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ReligionWe the PeopleWelfare ReformWellesley CollegeWendell PotterWhite Elite EstablishmentWhite EstablishmentWhitney HoustonWho Am IWill SmithWilley LynchWomanhoodWorker SuicideWorker's Bill of RightsWynton MarsalisXEXenophonYaleYellow JournalismYouTubeYouthZairearrogant presumptionbeltwaybullieschauvinismcomplainingconfidencedetermineddiscriminationemployeesfightformidablegenerosityhuman resourcesideologueidiocyinvestigationlibertarianismnational Anthemoceanpayrollperseverancerenewalresolutesailingseasteve Bannonstrongthreattime cardtraitorThe Wattree Chronicle<center><i><b>DEDICATED TO THE PROPOSITION THAT MAN'S INNATE THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE WILL SOMEDAY OVERWHELM HIS PASSIONATE LUST FOR STUPIDITY</b></i></center>http://wattree.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)Blogger704125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-5670958758566357673Fri, 16 Mar 2018 15:50:00 +00002018-03-17T06:06:25.877-07:00Elder HamptonGodHypocrisyReligionSincerityWattreeA QUESTION FROM MY BROTHER<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>A<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> QUESTION FROM MY BROTHER</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>.</b></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><b>The question is, are you ready to meet GOD face to face, and what will you be doing when He calls your name?</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><i>.</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T3YZbjzmHuY/WqvlvD3GoBI/AAAAAAAAGZs/P31_eVVxz9ouqf3r99CPpVVEd6rXfFzhACLcBGAs/s1600/GOD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="194" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T3YZbjzmHuY/WqvlvD3GoBI/AAAAAAAAGZs/P31_eVVxz9ouqf3r99CPpVVEd6rXfFzhACLcBGAs/s320/GOD.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Fred, you're my brother, and you've asked me this question before, so I’m going to answer it publically. The answer is yes, and I’ll be smiling. I'm more than willing to face God with my beliefs, because I can tell him that I had faith in the wisdom that HE bestowed upon me, not the nonsense of man. Man doesn't follow the common sense that God bestowed upon him - snakes don't talk, and dead men don't walk - he follows the Mother Goose tales of other men. So man has decided to place his faith in the complete idiocy of other men instead of God. So YOU'RE the one who's gonna be in trouble, because you don’t believe that nonsense for a minute. I know you, Fred. Unless you’ve lost some IQ points since we were kids, you’re not stupid. So I suspect that like most Christians, you’re just covering your ass just in case it MIGHT be true - but you’re not fooling God. He knows you’ve been living a lie.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> It's ironic that we find ourselves in this position. We grew up in the same house, but I was the one who they took to church every Sunday and was raised to be a Christian. I don't think they took you to church 5 times during your entire childhood. So maybe you should consider the fact that I take the position that I take because I have more experience with the gross hypocrisy of Christianity. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="color: #009000;">.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As a child I had to sit up Sunday after Sunday and suffer through their testifying about what God has done for THEM, without ever once hearing a word about what they've done for others. So it became clear to me even as a kid that they were only Christians for selfish reasons - but they ain't fooling God for a minute. So when they "face God", as you say, they're in for a rude awakening. How is this "Christian Nation" working for Black people, other minorities, and the poor, for example? How did your church work for you when you were having tax problems? Your Preacher: “Well, I’m sorry about that, brother, but that’s your problem.” </span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Think about that, Fred, and wake up. True people of God just keep their mouths shut and live their Godliness. They ain’t always out there lobbying for a spot in “Heaven”. That’s also an act of selfishness. If Heaven was filled with such hypocrites it would make Heaven Hell for the truly Godly.</span><br /><div align="center"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b> "IF YE WERE ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN, YE WOULD DO THE WORKS OF ABRAHAM"</b> </span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CDoMCVHgf1M/TihbBOoUxlI/AAAAAAAAAnc/JjVmIF-FTvo/s1600/God.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-left: 13.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Every since I wrote the column "Crabs in a Barrel," the gross hypocrisy of South Carolina State Senator, Rev. Darrell Jackson, has lingered with me. In that column I describe how the Black, South Carolina State Senator, who&nbsp;was also the pastor of the 10,000 member, </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"Family Way Bible Life Center Church,"</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> came out against Senator Barack Obama afer selling his support to Senator Hillary Clinton for $10,000 a month--a dollar amount that corresponded exactly with the number of members he had in his church. </span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Now, as I drive through the Black community and see the magnificent "houses of God" towering over the community in the midst of poverty, social need, and in some cases, squalor all around them, I can't help but wonder how many of them are really doing God's work.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">When I look at those resplendent edifices, it takes me back to a little storefront church on a 108th and Juniper in Watts, where my grandmother first sent me for religious instruction--she was ill at the time, so she couldn't take me to "the big church"&nbsp;in which she was a member. </span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I'll never forget that little storefront church. It stood down the street and in the shadow of a huge and elaborately appointed Catholic church, seemingly, almost as an afterthought. It was so small and had so few members that the thought of attracting a true "ordained man of God" was out of the question, so we had to settle for a little, unassuming man that we used to refer to as Elder Hampton. That little church was the closest thing to worshiping in someone's living room as you could get, but to this day, whenever I begin to lose faith in the basic goodness of my fellow man, or even remotely begin to contemplate God, I think of that little storefront church.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">If I'd remained at that church, I don't know what I would have been doing today. My young instincts led me to become so close to Elder Hampton that I might have even become a preacher. He used to take me with him to visit the old, the poor, and the sickly in the neighbor. Black, Mexican, young, old, Baptist or Catholic, he didn't care what a person was—if they were sick or in need, they were all a part of his flock.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Looking back on it, I don't know where he found the resources. He certainly didn't get it from our little collection plate—we were so poor and so few in number he couldn't have gotten more than ten dollars a Sunday out of us, max. But in spite of that, he was no Sunday preacher. He was a full-time man of God--if you were sick or in need, you could count on him seven days a week. But after my grandmother had an operation and finally got over her illness, they took me to the "big church," and I never saw Elder Hampton again, but his influence has remained constant in my life to this day—in fact, though I must admit that I'm rarely found in church these days, it is his lingering influence that's led me to write this article, and everything else&nbsp;that I write.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The first time I went to the big church I was completely overwhelmed with the opulence of it all. Shortly before I arrived, the church had just imported in a new fireball of an ordained minister direct from Dallas, Texas. He was nothing like the quiet and humble Elder Hampton. He had a big booming voice, wore shinny Florsheims, expensive suits, and a sense of importance just oozed from every pore of his body. When this man walked into a room it sucked all the oxygen out of the place--you just knew you were in the presence of someone significant.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And God must have loved this magnificent church the minister headed--the choir alone in this ornate house of God was larger by a factor of three than the entire membership of the little church I'd grown accustomed to, and the choir pit was twice&nbsp;as large as the room where we held Sunday school. The parking lot of the church was filled with big, expensive cars, and a limousine was often parked next to the front entrance. In addition, City Councilmen and other politicians were counted among its membership, and a well known entertainer, Billy Preston,&nbsp;was the church organist. In a church like this you didn't have to wait to get to heaven--every Sunday you were right there. The only problem was, after services you had to return to reality, which was more often than not, a life of pure hell.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I've often wondered what Elder Hampton would have done with all of those resources. But I couldn't imagine Elder Hampton heading a magnificent place like this. But since he wasn't "ordained" by man, it wasn't even an issue.&nbsp;He never would have even been considered to head a place like this in the first place. I don't care how Godly you were, stature took precedence there–if Moses wanted to head the church, they'd want to inspect his credentials. But even if Elder Hampton would have been ordained, he was much too humble a man to be embraced by the high-powered people in this membership. With his quiet, unassuming demeanor, even as a member, he would have been a back-bencher—politely tolerated, but scarcely noticed.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And further, Elder Hampton wouldn't begin to know how to manage the resources of a huge church like this. While he was definitely a man of God, he wasn't a&nbsp;practical man. He probably would have squander all the church's resources on the "no-account sinners" in the surrounding community.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span>.<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AEnkkPuC9g0/Wq0QKZmt3XI/AAAAAAAAGaA/rot-b6gGIjgAaMapaEbrw9uFoGpNaCs-gCEwYBhgL/s1600/Churches%2Band%2BHomeless%2BShelters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AEnkkPuC9g0/Wq0QKZmt3XI/AAAAAAAAGaA/rot-b6gGIjgAaMapaEbrw9uFoGpNaCs-gCEwYBhgL/s320/Churches%2Band%2BHomeless%2BShelters.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">He was just&nbsp;too impractical. He probably would have setup a soup kitchen and built a dormitory to house the homeless at night, and hired unemployed mothers to start a low-cost daycare center on the church grounds during the day. Then it wouldn't be no time at all before he'd dig up the church's beautiful grounds, trying to put up basketball courts and a recreation building to draw young people off the streets after school. And of course, between the kids during the day, the teenagers in the early evening, and the homeless at night, it would cost the church a fortune just to keep up the grounds and repair damages to the building.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Much of the congregation would have been in an uproar over the chaos he'd create. And it would go far beyond simply chaos. He would have long since lost most of the influential politicians. Every Sunday he'd be hounding them at church, and calling them at home during the week, trying to get them to create Empowerment Zones, and Special Need Zones to establish low-cost loans to help the surrounding neighbors to purchase and fix-up the houses they were living in. It's no wonder he'd drive the politicians out of the church. How could he expect these busy men and women&nbsp;to worship God in peace with him buzzing around like a gadfly trying to get them to help the poor?</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">No, Elder Hampton's heart was in the right place, but he'd have been much too impractical to run a big church like this. He was a God loving man, but he lacked common sense. He thought when God said Love thy neighbor, he meant it. What a fool.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Yeah, Elder Hampton would have been a back-bencher at that church. He would have been the fool sitting way in the back--with Jesus.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /></span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">*****<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><div align="left" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-reactid=".7.1:3:1:$comment481387455295734_481545701946576:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0"><em><span style="font-size: small;">“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. When you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward . . ."</span></em></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A1-34&amp;version=ESV" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;">Matthew 6:1-34</span></span></span></a></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong>Elder Hampton, God&nbsp;knew of the&nbsp;good works that you did in secret . . . And unbeknownst to you, he sent a child to record your deeds.</strong>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong>DEDICATED TO ELDER HAMPTON - A TRUE MAN OF GOD</strong></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lha6cjo5Cis" width="560"></iframe></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Eric L. Wattree </span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">http://wattree.blogspot.com/</a><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 13.33px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><a class="iconsphere" href="http://www.sphere.com/search?q=sphereit:http://wattree.blogspot.com/2016/01/dedicated-to-elder-hampton-humble-but.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" title="Related Blogs &amp; Articles">Sphere: Related Content</a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-question-from-my-brother.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-5240314281259715844Thu, 15 Mar 2018 14:02:00 +00002018-03-16T05:52:33.901-07:00Black HistoryFacebookWattreeFACEBOOK MUST STOP BLOCKING BLACK HISTORY<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>FACEBOOK MUST STOP BLOCKING BLACK HISTORY<br />.<br />HOW IS POSTING BLACK HISTORY ANY DIFFERENT FROM POSTING PHOTOS AND NARRATIVES OF THE HOLOCAUST? </b><br />. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oXW_6qOtG8w/Wqp8dg-BdZI/AAAAAAAAGZU/LeyOSq6pnugHzUsLS5sHCOeoN43JwV_ZQCLcBGAs/s1600/free-speech-is-a-civil-right.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oXW_6qOtG8w/Wqp8dg-BdZI/AAAAAAAAGZU/LeyOSq6pnugHzUsLS5sHCOeoN43JwV_ZQCLcBGAs/s320/free-speech-is-a-civil-right.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">A MESSAGE TO FACEBOOK</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></b></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">I'm writing you about what I consider a freedom of speech issue on Facebook.&nbsp; I'm a journalist, and granted, I tend to broach subjects that are considered taboo by many, but they're factual and not unnecessarily provocative.&nbsp; They simply address issues in a forthright manner that many don't want to face.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">I posted one such piece today, and I've been blocked from posting for 30 days.&nbsp; This is having a chilling impact on my honest attempt to provide the Black community with badly needed information that needs to be addressed.&nbsp; How can Black youth and the community be informed of their history if the horrors of that history has been deemed so horrendous that it cannot be shared in a public forum? That’s exactly what’s going on here, and what's been going on in America for the past 400 years. That's why Black history is only understood by the American people on a very superficial level.&nbsp; I am not a wild-eyed radical revolutionary; I’m simply an educated Black man dedicated to the proposition that American progress must be based on unobstructed truth.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">So I need your help here in reversing an action that I truly believe constitutes the denial of free speech as a primary component of institutional racism.&nbsp; Please review the following post and correct this gross assault on knowledge, education, and history.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">I'd like to thank you in advance for your assistance.<br />.<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">(A new ticket was created. Ticket ID is: LTK121940167930248X)</span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Eric L. Wattree</span><b><br /></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">BLACK PEOPLE:<br />GOD WILL NOT SEND YOU TO HELL FOR THINKING FOR YOURSELF</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MaU6GpqlhGk/Wqp7BRDZyCI/AAAAAAAAGZQ/Pa-RBA5gYO45M2b327lHTNwgAThkc7qPgCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_DON%2527T%2BTHINK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="220" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MaU6GpqlhGk/Wqp7BRDZyCI/AAAAAAAAGZQ/Pa-RBA5gYO45M2b327lHTNwgAThkc7qPgCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_DON%2527T%2BTHINK.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">When I discuss religion it has nothing to do with God.&nbsp; I'm a political writer, so I'm discussing religion as a political issue. Religious manipulation is holding Black people down, and it always has, because its primary tenets are not to think, to have unwavering faith in what you’re told, and to let the White man have this world, and you’ll get what's due you when you die. That's the biggest lie ever told, so I simply feel that it’s time we bring this nonsense out in the open and re-take control of our own minds. Black people are not stupid, but due to our ridiculous fear of “going to Hell” for thinking for ourselves, we're acting like it.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;">.<br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9CUNUVhzFAQ" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b>&nbsp;Slaves, Obey Your Earthly Masters:<br />"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart." - </b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Colossians 3:22-24</span></span><br /><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">.</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">THE CONVERSION</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></b></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Come here nigga and let me teach yo crazy, animal ass about the Lord.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">The first thing you got to learn is to Love thy Neighbor . . .</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">especially me."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Yes sir, Massa. Why would anybody not love you, Sir? You so good to</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">me, Massa. Anybody don't love you needs to have dey ass beat real</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">good, Massa."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Shut up, nigga. I'm talkin'."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Listen, you been blessed already, and you don't even know the Lord.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">The Lord made it where you don't have to worry 'bout a thing. I feed</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">you, I put clothes on yo nasty ass, and I give you a shed to sleep in,</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">and all you have to do is whatever the hell I tell you to. Do you know</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">how blessed you are?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Oh, indeed I do, Massa. You take good care of me. I's so happy."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Now, listen real good 'cause dis impotant. God said, thou shalt not</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">steal from me, thou shalt not kill (unless I tell you to), thou shalt</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">not stick another coon's wife (unless we tryin' to make some mo</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">niggas), and nigga, whatever you do, thou shalt not even look like you</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">want to stick a white woman, or we gon lynch yo black ass. You here</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">me, nigga?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Oh yes, Massa. We know dat! But Massa, I thought you said thou shalt not kill?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Dat means people, fool - real people! Dat don't go for niggas. God</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">wants us to keep you in yo place."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Dat's right, Massa. We sho gotta keep niggas in dey place. No tellin'</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">what a happen if we let dese niggas git loose. God so smart."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"I said shut up, nigga, and listen to the word."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"The next thing you got to learn is, whatever happens on this</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">plantation is God's will bein' done. And if you listen to me, you'll</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">get to live like I do when you die and go to Heaven."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">."Live like you, massa? A nigga ain't got no business livin' dat good.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">What a Po nigga like me gon do with all this? You know I ain't got</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">sense enough to run nothin' like this."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Just shut up, nigga!" When you dead you gon get some sense - the lord</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">gon give it to you. The Lord can do anything, even give sense to a</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">nigga. And he gon give you all the other niggas you gon need to help</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">you in the fields, too."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Massa, you so good to me! Thank you for tellin' me all dis. I'm gon</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">be a good nigga - the best nigga you ever seened. Look, I'm gon pray</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">for you right now, and thank the Lord for givin' me so good a massa."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Shut up and get up off your knees, ya dumb nigga! The fields need</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">tendin'! You pray to the Lord on your own time. God don't won't you</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">talkin' to him when you s'pose to be workin'."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"A couse, Massa. What I been thinkin'? I's so dumb. I don't know why</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">you put up with me, Sir."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"How many times I got to tell you to shut the hell up, nigga?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Yes Sir, I's a shuttin', Massa. I's a shuttin', right now."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Now get yo ass out there in that field and let's get some work done</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">around here . . . Oh, and Toby, have yo woman meet me in the barn. I</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">need to tell her 'bout the Lord too."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Yes sir, Massa."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"And another thing, Toby, if my momma come a lookin', tell her I'm</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">playin' in my tree house."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Why you gon go fibbin' to yo momma, Mr. Tommy? She knows you like to</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">sit wit Lou Ann."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Just shut up, nigga, and do what I said! And tell Lou Ann to wear</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">that pretty dress I like, cause we gon be talkin' 'bout the Lord, so</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">it's gon be like chuch."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"Yes Sir, Mr. Tommy." </span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">. . . "Whaaaaaaat a friend we have in Jeeeeesus . . ."</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: large;">We’ll never move forward until we tear ourselves away from this kind of brainwashed mentality.</span></b></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">E</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ric L. Wattree</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #007600;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">wattree.blogspot.com </span></span><br /><div class="s" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #545454; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; max-width: 640px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="color: #545454; line-height: 18px; max-width: none;"><div class="f kv _SWb" style="color: grey; display: block; height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><u style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><br /></span> </b></span> <span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><br /></strike></span></div></div></div></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span> <br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/03/facebook-must-stop-blocking-black.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-7011671885052665585Fri, 02 Mar 2018 15:16:00 +00002018-03-02T07:23:32.077-08:00Black GeniusProgressive MindsetWattreeWHATEVER HAPPEN TO THE PROGRESSIVE MINDSET OF MY PEOPLE?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 13.33px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>WHATEVER HAPPEN TO THE PROGRESSIVE MINDSET OF MY PEOPLE?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rPxaUf_SloU/Wpln-AP7iTI/AAAAAAAAGYM/cEmAdUyb6JEKZrYRyhGy9C8nWM6-pN7zACLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BGENIUS.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="284" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rPxaUf_SloU/Wpln-AP7iTI/AAAAAAAAGYM/cEmAdUyb6JEKZrYRyhGy9C8nWM6-pN7zACLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BGENIUS.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">The true meaning of what it means to be Black seems to be gone. When the White man saw the progressive development of Black people during the 60s, he said this is unacceptable, and then used BET and MTV to re-educate Black youth in his own way.&nbsp; As a result, we don’t seem to have Black people anymore; we have what is essentially dark-skinned caricatures of the White man's vision of what Black people are supposed to be.&nbsp; Then he dangled a carrot, and now we're chasing that carrot right down his Yellow Brick Road.&nbsp; <br />.<br />Where are our intellectuals, our great writers, musicians, and philosophers?&nbsp; We don’t have them anymore. What we have instead or writers who write nursery rhymes, musicians who can’t play instruments, and grey-headed philosophers in saggin’ pants who’s never opened a book.&nbsp; I bear witness.<br />.<br /><b>I BEAR WITNESS</b><br />.<br />I sit, I watch,<br />and I grow ever more obsolete<br />as I bear witness.<br />.<br />I bear witness <br />to a once vibrant people greedily gulping down society’s hemlock. Even as they claim to be “keeping it real,“ they continue to maim, kill, and despise their own in hot pursuit of the prime directive with the passion of a sheetless klan.<br />.<br />I bear witness <br />to Black fists in the air in false solidarity promoted by self-serving poverty pimps as the world looks on and giggle at crooked fingers pointed elsewhere.<br />.<br />I bear witness<br />to the superficial attempt to ban the “N-word” while the new "un-niggas" stand around watching children killing children and fathers drugging sons, as they celebrate, lionize, and enrich those who denigrate the very womb of their culture with impunity.<br />.<br />I bear witness<br />to a generation of lost knowledge, cut off from its roots by Ronnie’s “Just say no” generation of crack, greed, death, and political corruption; A generation where the new N-word is pronounced “Responsibility” and the keepers of the flame completely ignore the destructive power of bitch, slut, whore, and tramp. <br />.<br />I bear witness<br />to the reckless disregard of the words uneducated, irresponsible, and classless. Should we not ban these words as well, or should we ban banning words altogether as we celebrate their meaning?<br />.<br />Yes, I do bear witness. <br />I bear witness to a new world -<br />a world where gross ignorance comes disguised as enlightenment, and funky sneakers look down with disdain upon the sweet smell of Florsheim; a world where saggin’ pants and gaudy glitter enable country bumpkins to masquerade as elegant, and the exquisite surrender of eloquence is the very essence of what it means to be hip. <br />.<br />Where's Langston? Where's Baldwin? Where's Oscar Brown, Jr? <br />We need you stormin' this beach, because . . .<br />.<br />I now bear witness<br />to a world where motherhood stands alone, to be “dope” renders a smile, and posterity is forced to embrace the wind for paternal sustenance; A world where the walking dead strut about rapping the wisdom of idiocy, and we praise the illiteracy of vulgar nursery rhymes as profound; a world where the mother of salvation's final gasp is compared to the pigmentation of brown paper bags.<br />.<br />Malcolm, Martin, where are you? <br />I once stood with a crowd. <br />Now seemingly alone, I'm forced to bear witness -<br />horrific witness . . .<br />to the imminent demise of our people,<br />.<br />And my heart bleeds.<br />.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pIkR5oqZXnY" width="640"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">E</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ric L. 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font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 10.06px;"><span style="font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><u style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: 13.33px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.33px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.33px;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><br /></strike></span></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span></span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></b></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/03/whatever-happen-to-progressive-mindset.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-3045476783151581729Tue, 20 Feb 2018 17:01:00 +00002018-03-03T16:54:32.065-08:00ConservativesIndictmentsPardonsRussian SanctionsTreasonTrumpTrump's Dubious FriendsWattreeTRUMP IS GUILTY AS SIN AND A THREAT TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY<u></u><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TRUMP IS GUILTY AS SIN AND A THREAT TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY</span><br />.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XVaMik10FLs/WoxLY2fxTMI/AAAAAAAAGXU/EznrjWqOXHM6bEL629s89aVo8q4M77BqACLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP_PUTIN%2BPUPPET.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="192" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XVaMik10FLs/WoxLY2fxTMI/AAAAAAAAGXU/EznrjWqOXHM6bEL629s89aVo8q4M77BqACLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP_PUTIN%2BPUPPET.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Donald Trump's behavior says it all. An innocent man would simply quietly wait out the Russian investigation and review the results. But not Trump - he's been firing people, threatening to fire others, literally climbing the walls, and totally preoccupied with the investigation to the exclusion of everything else. Why? He's publically humiliated his own Attorney General for recusing himself and failing to maintain control of the investigation. Why?&nbsp; He’s also been slandering our most respected government institutions who have a mandate to protect the American people. Why?&nbsp; And he seems to be furious at everybody BUT the Russians who attacked our democracy. Why? <br />.<br />And why did Trump try to set up back channel communications with the Russians that was outside the hearing of our intelligence services? In addition, Trump has refused to put sanctions into place that was voted in against Russia as the bipartisan will of the 2017 congress, and that he was FORCED to sign. Why?&nbsp; Is Trump afraid of Russia for some reason? It sure seems like it, and it is essential to our national security that we ask ourselves, Why?&nbsp; Trump struts around like Mr. Big Stuff when he’s calling Americans out of their names on twitter, but he whimpers like a wounded kitten when confronted by Putin. Why?</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">Further, Trump tweeted that <i>"If it was the GOAL of Russia to create discord, disruption and chaos within the U.S. then, with all of the Committee Hearings, Investigations and Party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. Get smart America!"</i> If he recognizes those facts as part of Russia's agenda, why is it that his own agenda seems to be in perfect sync with that of the Russians rather than what's in the best interest of the United States? For the entire year that he's been in office he's mounted a relentless attack on all of America's most cherished government institutions, from his attacks on congress, to his unconscionable attacks on the FBI, CIA, and our other intelligence agencies, to his brutal undermining of our judiciary, justice department, and the press. Why?</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">.<b></b><b></b></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;"></span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">SHEPARD SMITH OF FOX NEWS GOES AFTER TRUMP FOR NOT CONDEMNING </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">RUSSIA IN TWEETSTORM</span></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y95iGwHfM_w/WoxKurw2tcI/AAAAAAAAGXM/C4wSdVfvf9MD0IpPGjpAnMQ9nB_ZLsT9wCLcBGAs/s1600/FOX%2BGOES%2BAFTER%2BTRUMP.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="65" data-original-width="136" height="152" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y95iGwHfM_w/WoxKurw2tcI/AAAAAAAAGXM/C4wSdVfvf9MD0IpPGjpAnMQ9nB_ZLsT9wCLcBGAs/s320/FOX%2BGOES%2BAFTER%2BTRUMP.png" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>SHEPARD SMITH</b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Even FOX News seems to agree that Trump's behavior in this matter is peculiar. Shepard Smith of FOX News went after Trump for not condemning Russia in his tweetstorm subsequent to the announcement of the 13 Russian indictments.&nbsp; Smith said:</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">"The president spent the weekend defending himself, misrepresenting the truth and attacking others from his phone in Florida. " Smith went on to say, "Trump attacked the Department of Justice, the FBI, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, as well as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former President Obama and Oprah Winfrey.&nbsp; Yet, "He did not attack Vladimir Putin or Russia, nor did he express concern that the Russians attacked the United States. Nor did he pledge in any way to put measures in place to stop future attacks."</span></span><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #001000; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2-c9cJYeBTc/WoxKhQx6c_I/AAAAAAAAGXI/5hpZ79Vyka4J__QAmZniqH67IjwzcaY4gCLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP%2BTIES%2BTO%2BRUSSIA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2-c9cJYeBTc/WoxKhQx6c_I/AAAAAAAAGXI/5hpZ79Vyka4J__QAmZniqH67IjwzcaY4gCLcBGAs/s400/TRUMP%2BTIES%2BTO%2BRUSSIA.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.<br />Trump was involved with the Russians long before the election, that's why Mueller indicted these 13 Russians. This is just the tip of the iceberg. It goes much deeper than just Russians interfering in our election. That’s just a small part of a much larger conspiracy. That explains why conservatives are telling Trump to simply pardon everybody involved in the Russian investigation. Why would they want to pardon people who attacked our democracy unless Trump was involved and they don’t want it to come out in plea bargains?&nbsp; <br />.<br />It's beginning to look like Putin is controlling Trump, and thereby, this nation. That’s why the Russians wanted him to win the presidency in the first place. It looks like the Russians have dirt on Trump, and they’ve turned him into the Manchurian Candidate. Even as we speak, Trump could be filling our government with Russian operatives, much like he did his campaign, and they, in turn, could be hiring others, so Putin will still have influence over the inner-workings of our government regardless to what happens to Trump. This is a serious situation, so the American people needs to take it seriously - very seriously.&nbsp; This is not just politics as usual.&nbsp; This is a fight for American democracy that is just as serious as WWII.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>IT WAS THE RUSSIANS WHO</b> <span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b>PULLED TRUMP OUT OF BANKRUPTCY AND WENT INTO BUSINESS WITH HIM. THAT IS WHY TRUMP DIDN'T WANT MUELLER DIGGING INTO HIS PRIVATE BUSINESS.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b> .</b></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b>THE DUBIOUS FRIENDS OF DONALD TRUMP</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b>.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1bEdMuKq30I" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Retired Major General Paul Eaton penned what some have referred to as a "jaw-dropping" response to Trump's call for a military parade. The general said the following:</span></span></span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; float: right; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 6.66px; margin-left: 13.33px; orphans: 2; padding: 4px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--exkQ9vaC7E/Wnt_BBzRJZI/AAAAAAAAGT4/x3TVtzuIRFYc1cADDub1ZXe-m7-DSWeoACLcBGAs/s1600/GENERAL%2BPAUL%2BEATON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><b style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--exkQ9vaC7E/Wnt_BBzRJZI/AAAAAAAAGT4/x3TVtzuIRFYc1cADDub1ZXe-m7-DSWeoACLcBGAs/s1600/GENERAL%2BPAUL%2BEATON.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" /></span></b></a></td></tr><tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: small;">MAJOR GENERAL PAUL EATON</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">“Donald Trump has continually shown himself to have authoritarian tendencies, and this is just another example, For someone who just declared it was ‘treasonous’ to not applaud him, and for someone who has, in the past, admired the tactics of everyone from Saddam Hussein to Vladimir Putin, it is clear that a military parade isn’t about saluting the military — it’s about making a display of the military saluting him.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> “The military is not Donald Trump’s to use and abuse in this way.” The retired major general went on to say that the military would not be “reduced to stagecraft to prop up Donald Trump’s image.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> “Unfortunately, we do not have a commander in chief, right now, as much as we have a banana republic strong man.”<br />.<br />Trump has also been shunned by some of the United States' oldest allies:</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: red; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/trump-uk-state-visit-greenwich-council-london-bigot-britain-first-twitter-bigot-us-president-a8111796.html" target="_blank"><b>Donald Trump 'not welcome' in London borough after council passes motion opposing US President's visit</b></a></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #0b4000; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">So <span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: red; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;">why is Donald Trump working with the Russians to de-legitimize the entire United States government?&nbsp; At this point only Trump, the Russians, and Investigator Mueller know for sure.&nbsp; But here’s something&nbsp; the American people <i><u>should </u></i>know - Anyone who supports Trump’s effort, for any reason, is un-American, and the enemy of every American patriot who’s ever died for this country - and I’m not a Democrat.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: red; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;">&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></div></div><h3 class="r" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-transform: none; white-space: nowrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;">.</div></span></span></span></h3><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">E</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ric L. Wattree</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">wattree.blogspot.com </span></span><br /><div class="s" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #545454; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; max-width: 640px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="color: #545454; line-height: 18px; max-width: none;"><div class="f kv _SWb" style="color: grey; display: block; height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><u style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #007600; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><br /></strike></span></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div></div></div></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span></span><b><br /></b><br /><b> </b>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/02/trump-is-guilty-as-sin-and-threat-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-4162199518233173344Sat, 17 Feb 2018 18:19:00 +00002018-03-04T07:28:52.376-08:00EvangelistHypocritesPat RobertsonWattreeABOUT ALL THIS PRAYIN’ AND CHURCH-IFYIN’<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">ABOUT ALL THIS PRAYIN’ AND CHURCH-IFYIN’</span><br />.<br /><span style="font-size: large;">TO EVANGELICALS:<br />IF YOUR GOD IS NOT TELLING YOU<br />TRUMP IS AN EVIL-MINDED LUNATIC,<br />YOU’RE TALKING TO THE WRONG PERSON.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Jghn30gboY/WohxBF97VVI/AAAAAAAAGV4/Y1cEGBa_H2oHYadMFIvk_8i_HdgFD6TGQCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_FOUNDING%2BFATHERS%2BON%2BCHRISTIANITY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Jghn30gboY/WohxBF97VVI/AAAAAAAAGV4/Y1cEGBa_H2oHYadMFIvk_8i_HdgFD6TGQCLcBGAs/s320/CHRISTIAN_FOUNDING%2BFATHERS%2BON%2BCHRISTIANITY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Wait a minute, lady, you just called me a “demonic lunatic!” Now, you know that wasn't very Christian of you, now, don’t you? We can't just be Christian when we want to be. So, tell me, whatever happened to that “Turning the other cheek”, and "Judge ye not” that you’re always talkin’ about?&nbsp; But now that you don't like my political position your Christian love seems to have flown right out the window, hasn’t it? </span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">You see, there are two kinds of people who claim to be Christians, the first are the hypocrites, of which you seem to be a charter member. These people are Christian in flappin’ lips and spewin' Bible verses only. They love to go around spewing the Bible and criticizing others as they casually go about their lives molesting children, exploiting the weak, and grabbing the genitals of the opposite sex.&nbsp; Such people place genuine Christians in a bad light. Genuine Christians generally keep their mouths shut and simply live their faith - all five of them.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1SFpnkuv4AM/WonYDm8blFI/AAAAAAAAGWY/6658XI18Bs8M9ZZMLOB2Bz2lpEP_xqjnACLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIANITY_BARRY%2BGOLDWATER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1SFpnkuv4AM/WonYDm8blFI/AAAAAAAAGWY/6658XI18Bs8M9ZZMLOB2Bz2lpEP_xqjnACLcBGAs/s320/CHRISTIANITY_BARRY%2BGOLDWATER.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">But what this is really about is that you called me a demonic lunatic because I don't like Donald Trump.&nbsp; Now, the jury is still out on whether or not I’m a lunatic, but I don’t have to worry about all that demonic nonsense, because I'm not a Christian so I don’t believe in demons. So, you see, I'm free to say what's REALLY on my mind instead of trying to fool God by lyin' to him. I don't have to try to cover up bigotry and hatred of everybody who doesn't look, think, and act like me by claiming to love Trump because I want America to be great again.&nbsp; God knows what's you’re thinking. He knows that you only love Trump because he's helping you to make America evil and racist again. So you fake Christians better hope like hell that God's not at Heaven's gate asking questions to see whether you'll try to lie to him or not, because if he is, all he'd have to ask you is one question, "Do you REALLY believe in walking dead men, talkin' snakes, and loving your neighbor?" If he does, you're all going to Hell for lyin'.</span><br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a0bpGq-y5yw/Wohu6zE8VzI/AAAAAAAAGVs/ag4mKJJc6w0cijUTqM3kRbmhVjvslxS9wCLcBGAs/s1600/LYNCHING.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="201" height="254" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a0bpGq-y5yw/Wohu6zE8VzI/AAAAAAAAGVs/ag4mKJJc6w0cijUTqM3kRbmhVjvslxS9wCLcBGAs/s320/LYNCHING.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">You people are evil, and destroying this country.&nbsp; While you’re running around talking about how much you love Jesus, you’re robbing, murdering, stealing, and creating absolute chaos all over the world. You've slaughtered over a 100 million Native Americans, and no telling how many Black people. So I mean, really, do you really think God is actually gonna let your hypocritical, lyin’, self-righteous asses into Heaven!!!? Not on your life. In fact, it would be impossible for one very simple and logical reason -&nbsp; because with you in Heaven, it would turn Heaven into Hell for everyone else. Who would want to sit around listenin’ to Pat Robertson lyin' throughout eternity?&nbsp; That would be more than even God could take.&nbsp; </span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.&nbsp; </span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">But I ain’t just singling you White folks out. We have some very tiresome Black Christians as well - but I also blame you for that, because you’re the ones who taught ‘em to be lyin', greedy hypocrites.&nbsp; For that reason, Black Christians are gonna have a very unique problem in Heaven. Since there's nowhere in Heaven to buy a big car, and T.D Jakes won't be able to find nowhere to buy his tailor-made fugadoo suits, they ain’t gonna be able to find nobody willing to preach.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B2kQdpjV9Ds" width="640"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XpUab9lShBU/WonUcPz4s6I/AAAAAAAAGWM/RCA1gAGYy8s8jf-Uaupiu_hfus-moosaQCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_DON%2527T%2BTHINK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="220" height="265" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XpUab9lShBU/WonUcPz4s6I/AAAAAAAAGWM/RCA1gAGYy8s8jf-Uaupiu_hfus-moosaQCLcBGAs/s400/CHRISTIAN_DON%2527T%2BTHINK.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>TURN OFF THE ONLY THING YOU <i><u>KNOW</u></i> GOD GAVE YOU!!!?</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>*<br />I'M TRYING MY BEST, LORD, BUT THEY'VE BEEN </b><b>BRAINWASHED FROM CHILDHOOD.&nbsp; THEY THINK YOU'RE GONNA BE MAD AT 'EM IF THEY THINK.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">HOW DO YOU GET THROUGH TO PEOPLE WHO </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">GIVE AWAY THEIR MONEY AND THEN PRAY FOR YOU TO PAY THEIR BILLS?</span></b>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">*</span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e17sBuKxdeo/Wond2gf4UEI/AAAAAAAAGWo/Qx7JUF3G5pEIKt95jrx14Jmuh9wvj6RxgCLcBGAs/s1600/Churches%2Band%2BHomeless%2BShelters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="236" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e17sBuKxdeo/Wond2gf4UEI/AAAAAAAAGWo/Qx7JUF3G5pEIKt95jrx14Jmuh9wvj6RxgCLcBGAs/s400/Churches%2Band%2BHomeless%2BShelters.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Eric L. Wattree&nbsp; </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">wattree.blogspot.com </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><u style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/02/about-prayin-and-church-ifyin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-3533405978095084384Thu, 15 Feb 2018 14:22:00 +00002018-03-06T07:01:21.151-08:00Barack ObamaBlack communityCornel WestGrits and GravySlaveryStatus QuoTavis SmileyWattreeTHE GRITS AND GRAVY DEBATE<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span><br /><b><i><u><span style="color: #0b0376; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;"><br /></span></u></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>THE GRITS AND GRAVY DEBATE</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v06YD694QTk/WoWRpZSjieI/AAAAAAAAGVI/sgQTlkY13g4MlU-S4SCBjQmU6P8xUxLUACLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK_TAVIS%2BAND%2BWEST%2BTURNCOATS.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="273" height="216" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v06YD694QTk/WoWRpZSjieI/AAAAAAAAGVI/sgQTlkY13g4MlU-S4SCBjQmU6P8xUxLUACLcBGAs/s320/BLACK_TAVIS%2BAND%2BWEST%2BTURNCOATS.png" width="320" /></a></div>The Black community wastes far too much time sharing recipes and bickering over non-consequentials, and not nearly enough time sharing knowledge and wisdom.&nbsp; We've been trying the grits and gravy approach for 400 years now, and where has it gotten us?&nbsp; Yet, when I brought up the prospect of recognizing the need to use the most powerful organizing tool known to man to address this issue and reassess our priorities, many people became up-in- arms over what they claimed was my attempt to ban the sharing of recipes, which was ridiculous. But it seems that I’ve inadvertently revealed two very serious problems in the Black community.&nbsp; First, the seeming inability of many of us to prioritize and differentiate between the frivolous, and those issues that are a serious matter of survival, and secondly, our tendency to go out of our way to look for ways to be obstinate, disruptive, and disagreeable in order to corrupt serious discussion.<br />.<br />It was clearly not my intent to ban the sharing of recipes. My point wasn’t even about recipes, per se. “Sharing recipes” was merely a metaphor to reflect our tendency to focus on the frivolous. My point was actually about priorities, and the fact that we tend to place much too much emphasis on the frivolous, and much too little on the things that can improve our condition. A perfect example of that is, instead of working together to improve our condition, we try to put up fronts with each other to give the impression that we've already "arrived," like buying big new cars that forces us to deprive our kids and starve to death to afford. So instead of wasting our time discussing grits and gravy recipes, we need to be in serious discussions with one another about the need to change our cultural mores, and investing in our community, instead of trying to front-off as individuals.<br />.<br />But when I broached this subject, you would have thought the sky was falling. Instead of focusing on the part of my statement which referred to improving our condition, many completely ignored the substantive part of the comment, and focused like a laser on what they claimed was my suggestion that they stop sharing recipes.&nbsp; It was like I committed a mortal sin. Of course, they knew better, but it was a clumsy form of obfuscation in an attempt redirect the discussion. So while my intent was to inform, what I actually did was inadvertently bring out a very interesting characteristic in our people, that many of us are much more interested in the social and the frivolous than we are the practical and serious. The discussion became so heated that I actually had to block a couple of people, but when I look back on it, it might have been partially my fault, because I have a very low threshold for ignorance and stupidity. I tend to be a bigot in that regard, but a writer should never give-in to his personal disposition and always remain remote and objective towards his subject matter. <br />.<br />But one of the reasons that I became so irritated was because I recognized many of the response as Willie Lynch-inspired.&nbsp; While many Black people don’t realize it, the tendency to be disagreeable and nitpicky toward other Blacks was psychologically bred into us during slavery. Slave masters instilled that character flaw in us to insure that we would never be able to successfully come together to rebel against them - and it can be on any subject. We could be discussing the horrors of picking cotton, and somebody will say, “Why pick on cotton, what about wool?” - in spite of the fact that you don’t have to pick wool.&nbsp; But they’ll find a way to turn it into a counterproductive and distracting argument nevertheless, and thereby, disrupt the focus of the discussion. <br />.<br /><div style="text-align: left;">Thus, many Black people have an unnatural tendency to be distrusting and hostile toward any Black person who advocates any kind of change to the status quo.&nbsp; Black people were bred to be protectors of the status quo; there were even a few who fought against the abolishment of slavery.&nbsp; Many Black people claimed, for example, that Tavis Smiley and Cornel West were justified in taking a bus all over the country criticizing Barack Obama’s conduct in office. They claimed they were doing it because of their love for the Black community, but the truth was, these men didn't care anything about the Black community. They were haters, and they used the Black community as a pretext to justify their ignorance.&nbsp; They started criticizing Obama long before he even entered office. Look at the video below of Tavis and West on <i>THE VERY DAY</i> that Senator Obama threw his hat in the ring just to <i>RUN</i> for office, and the truly ugly part of their character was, when it became clear that Obama could actually win, Cornel West jumped the fence and tried to start supporting him.</div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HXj3_pjTTwg" width="420"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div>So it's all about mindset. We can always find an excuse for being obstinate, and we've become experts at it.&nbsp; During the election when they were so insistent on knowing where Obama's money was coming from, they didn't say a word about Hillary Clinton, and where are Tavis and West now that Donald Trump's in office? All we hear now are crickets - and there's a good reason for that. It's because Tavis and West are comfortable with Trump running America, because he's a White man. Even though he's an absolute horror, he's a White horror, and he represents a status quo that they're accustom to, and quite comfortable with.<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0kXjvezJn0A/WoXnHwppvjI/AAAAAAAAGVY/IGleKTK-e-w2cmgTT7ELIvudr_eOvVXdgCLcBGAs/s1600/Cornel%2BWest%2Bsuckin%2527%2BUp.jpg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="266" height="283" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0kXjvezJn0A/WoXnHwppvjI/AAAAAAAAGVY/IGleKTK-e-w2cmgTT7ELIvudr_eOvVXdgCLcBGAs/s400/Cornel%2BWest%2Bsuckin%2527%2BUp.jpg.png" width="400" /></a></div>So even though we often fail to recognize it, many Black people contracted a serious mental disorder during slavery, and it's been passed down through the generations over the years. It entails an innate distrust and disdain of our own people, a lack of focus and the ability to prioritize, and the tendency to be disagreeable and hostile toward anyone who challenges the status quo. That attitude makes it next to impossible for Black people to come together and organize to improve our condition - and it also serves to insure the stability of this White supremacist system.<br />.<br />Even Martin Luther King was initially criticized by the Black church for causing an unnecessary disturbance to the status quo. They told him to stop rockin' the boat and just pray on it, and <i>eventually</i> racism and bigotry would work itself out. That mindset is so pronounced within the Black community that Malcolm was even killed by his own people. So the White man has done his job well, which brings me back to grits and gravy.<br />.<br />While we might love using the most powerful tool on the planet to share recipes and such, the Black community has far too much work to do to waste our time engaging in such frivolous pursuits. Now, I’m not suggesting that we cease socializing in such ways altogether, but we must get away from making that, and bickering, our primary way of life. If we want to move forward in a society that has the odds stacked against us, we must learn to stick together, organize, focus, and make knowledge and a dedication to serious pursuits what it means to have “soul,” and arguing over grits and gravy is not going to help us in that regard.<br />.<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Eric L. Wattree&nbsp; </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">wattree.blogspot.com </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a> </span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><u style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-grits-and-gravy-debate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-8250275869628583417Wed, 07 Feb 2018 18:17:00 +00002018-02-08T05:47:39.062-08:00Barack ObamaInstabilityKim Jong InMilitaryNorth KoreaParadeRepublican PartyTrumpWattreeTRUMP ORDERS PENTAGON TO ORGANIZE A MILITARY PARADE - FOR TRUMP<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TRUMP ORDERS PENTAGON TO ORGANIZE A MILITARY PARADE - FOR TRUMP</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fIm23BQKm3I/WnsqANbKa2I/AAAAAAAAGTQ/y3xZVw5Cf5suTzKGnkZPJgTy3LltRt6ZwCLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP%2BPLAYING%2BWITH%2BTOYS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fIm23BQKm3I/WnsqANbKa2I/AAAAAAAAGTQ/y3xZVw5Cf5suTzKGnkZPJgTy3LltRt6ZwCLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP%2BPLAYING%2BWITH%2BTOYS.jpg" /></a></div>Donald Trump’s childish propensity for meaningless and over-the-top ostentation and bombasity has once again reared it ugly head. The Washington Post reported that Trump has ordered the pentagon to organize a huge military parade to be held in Washington, D.C. in the very near future.&nbsp; While several other countries routinely stage such parades as a part of their national tradition, the United States as a rule has shied away from that kind of military muscle-flexing except upon return of our troops from overseas and to punctuate the end of foreign wars. Adjusted for inflation, the cost of the parade that George H.W. Bush gave after the Gulf War was $21 million.<br />.<br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gqsE-_M-BPo/WnsqnqMqdMI/AAAAAAAAGTc/pZdE7iVkgx8vDXf7CUM4kMGvW-SjWKYMACEwYBhgL/s1600/TRUMP%2BCHARACTER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Nevertheless, according to the Washington Post, Trump's “marching orders were: ‘I want a parade like the one in France [on Bastille Day],’ a military official told The Post,” and the details are currently being worked out at the highest levels of the military. But there's a burning question that begs to be answered here - what’s motivating Trump to waste badly needed taxpayer dollars to indulge in such an unprecedented whim?&nbsp; It's an extremely bizarre demand, to say the least.<br />.<br />White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in a statement that “President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe," she said, so "he has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.” That neither rings true, nor does it reflect his actions with regard to veterans. Yes, Donald Trump is more than willing praise our military veterans to promote his whims and agenda, but he’s also made it clear that he’s willing to cut their throats at the drop of a hat.<br />.<br />Military.com, reported the following: <br />.<br /><i>The Trump budget “would cap the next military pay raise; hike healthcare fees ‘modestly’ for working-age military retirees, and increase co-payments on pharmacy drugs for TRICARE beneficiaries, including retirees of any age.” It goes on to say, the “administration has fresh cost-cutting plans. Many target federal civilian employees but one that would hit 208,000 seriously disabled older veterans particularly hard. These “IU” veterans have disability ratings from the Department of Veterans Affairs of 60 to 90 percent, but because they aren’t able to work they receive VA compensation as if 100-percent disabled.&nbsp; Individual Unemployability or IU status provides, on average, an additional $1300 a month in VA disability pay. The administration wants Congress to end IU eligibility next year for any veteran 62 and older who qualifies for at least minimum Social Security payments. Their VA compensation would be rolled back to amounts payable based on their actual disability ratings of 60 to 90 percent.” </i><br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f5YCwx4OJ1I/WntTt7S1hQI/AAAAAAAAGTo/IcghIl7zkYMtQ9mb037TWJjnaj8KOnbcgCLcBGAs/s1600/GOP_Ike%2BEisenhower%2Bon%2BGOP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="400" height="303" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f5YCwx4OJ1I/WntTt7S1hQI/AAAAAAAAGTo/IcghIl7zkYMtQ9mb037TWJjnaj8KOnbcgCLcBGAs/s400/GOP_Ike%2BEisenhower%2Bon%2BGOP.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>That budget doesn't reflect the actions of a man who <i>"</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe,"</i> at all.</span> What it reflects is a cynical manipulator who has absolutely no problem with using suffering vets to promote his own interests. Especially when we consider that they just wasted $24 million on a new refrigerator for Air Force One, and $349.2 million last year just to&nbsp; play golf. Are these the same Republicans who are always complaining about wasteful government spending?<br />.<br />In addition, I find it quite odd that all of a sudden Donald Trump has morphed into this super-patriot who loves the military. If this is indeed the case, his passionate love for the military must be a newly acquired taste, because when Donald Trump had the opportunity to demonstrate his love for this country he obtained 5 deferments (FIVE!!!) to avoid the draft, and that has been a Trump family tradition.&nbsp; Both his father, grandfather, and now his sons all avoided military service as well. So four generations of Trumps ran like hell when they had an opportunity to serve their country. But now he loves the troops so much he wants to give them a parade, even as he’s robbing them of their benefits to finance <span class="_Yht" data-term-for-update="nauseating" data-ved="0ahUKEwiUyqnvr5TZAhXBsVQKHaqhDTIQ_SoIMTAA" jsaction="dob.uwt" role="link" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 100; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" tabindex="0"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">nauseatingly</span></span> huge tax cuts for the top 1% of this country’s controlling oligarchs.&nbsp; <br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>So all of that strongly suggests that it's not very likely that Trump wants to stage a parade for our troops. The much more obvious answer - and the ramifications of which should be absolutely chilling to all Americans - is he wants to squander millions of taxpayer dollars in order to hold a parade in honor of himself.&nbsp; That's not only terrifying due of his gross disregard and manipulation of the American people, but because it speaks directly to his narcissistic vision of himself, and his widely suspected mental instability and autocratic tendencies.&nbsp; And what's equally terrifying and disgusting is, instead of trying to protect American democracy the Republican Party is catering to Trump's obvious instability for their own selfish gain. <br />.<br />Retired Major General Paul Eaton penned what some have referred to as a "jaw-dropping" response to Trump's call for a military parade. The general said the following:<br />.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--exkQ9vaC7E/Wnt_BBzRJZI/AAAAAAAAGT4/x3TVtzuIRFYc1cADDub1ZXe-m7-DSWeoACLcBGAs/s1600/GENERAL%2BPAUL%2BEATON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--exkQ9vaC7E/Wnt_BBzRJZI/AAAAAAAAGT4/x3TVtzuIRFYc1cADDub1ZXe-m7-DSWeoACLcBGAs/s1600/GENERAL%2BPAUL%2BEATON.jpg" /></b></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">MAJOR GENERAL PAUL EATON</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>“Donald Trump has continually shown himself to have authoritarian tendencies, and this is just another example, For someone who just declared it was ‘treasonous’ to not applaud him, and for someone who has, in the past, admired the tactics of everyone from Saddam Hussein to Vladimir Putin, it is clear that a military parade isn’t about saluting the military — it’s about making a display of the military saluting him.<br />.<br />“The military is not Donald Trump’s to use and abuse in this way.” The retired major general went on to say that the military would not be “reduced to stagecraft to prop up Donald Trump’s image.<br />.<br />“Unfortunately, we do not have a commander in chief, right now, as much as we have a banana republic strong man.”<br />.<br /><div style="text-align: left;">So the stakes are too high for us to continue to tap dance around this issue - Donald Trump is unstable; we all know it, and the heads of state of all of the nations of the world know it. In fact, many of our long-time allies are distancing themselves from us for just that reason. Due to Donald Trump, America is no longer being led buy the best among us, but the loudest, most obnoxious, and craziest among us, and he's flooding our government with more like himself on a daily basis.&nbsp; That's not only a huge threat to our democracy, but to our very existence. And further. we cannot trust this man's judgement, that's why his attorneys don't want him to be interviewed by Special Prosecutor Mueller.&nbsp; What if Trump's approval ratings fall into the twenties and he decides that the best way to get them back up is to engage in a "limited" nuclear exchange with North Korea, or if Kim Jong Un says or does something that fractures Trump's fragile ego or sense of narcissism? A simple slight could lead to the end the world.</div>.<br />And finally, Trump's demand for a military parade for himself clearly shows that he's not interested in what he can do to improve America or the world at all; it's all about Donald Trump. Through his narcissistic eyes all America represents to him is a powerful extension of his own ego.&nbsp; So we're in a precariously dangerous situation. Absolutely everything that Trump has done since he's been in office has been designed to make himself look good to his mindless supporters, so this can't continue.&nbsp; Donald Trump is about to implode, so it is absolutely imperative that we take the necessary steps to insure that he can't take America, and the world, down with him.&nbsp; This man doesn't belong in the White House; he belongs in a state hospital - and if we continue to just sit on our hands and do nothing, maybe we belong there with him.<br /><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">SO FACE IT, TRUMP</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>NOT EVEN A MILITARY PARADE WILL MAKE YOU</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>EQUAL TO THIS BLACK MAN</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-380vC6SuRM8/WnxTS4VMwhI/AAAAAAAAGUU/kcgVXkwnpI0y6atuWwKme3XHYA_6VbZsACLcBGAs/s1600/OBAMA_ACCOMPLISHMENTS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-380vC6SuRM8/WnxTS4VMwhI/AAAAAAAAGUU/kcgVXkwnpI0y6atuWwKme3XHYA_6VbZsACLcBGAs/s640/OBAMA_ACCOMPLISHMENTS.jpg" width="505" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Eric L. Wattree&nbsp; </span><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">wattree.blogspot.com </span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a> </span></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;"><u style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></div></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></b><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></i><u style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></u><sub style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 9.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></sub><sup style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 9.2px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></sup><strike style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: line-through; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></strike><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/02/trump-orders-pentagon-to-organize.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-5810387632799175937Fri, 02 Feb 2018 20:49:00 +00002018-02-22T11:59:43.933-08:00Barack ObamaDonald TrumpEducationIgnoranceIntelligenceKnowledgeSlaveryThe Black CommunityWattreeWHY MANY BLACK PEOPLE FEEL A MORAL OBLIGATION TO FEIGN IGNORANCE <div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>WHY MANY BLACK PEOPLE FEEL A MORAL OBLIGATION TO FEIGN IGNORANCE</b><br />.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7sFabuwxRYs/WnTNYStThDI/AAAAAAAAGRQ/sYhP2kAqELcYBmgOnz9tISuLlKEeTAfkgCLcBGAs/s1600/KNOWLEDGE_GREAT%2BMEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="720" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7sFabuwxRYs/WnTNYStThDI/AAAAAAAAGRQ/sYhP2kAqELcYBmgOnz9tISuLlKEeTAfkgCLcBGAs/s400/KNOWLEDGE_GREAT%2BMEN.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the major problems that we have in the Black community is a failure to recognize our own intellect. We fail to realize that having to deal with adversity from the time we wake up in the morning until the time we close our eyes at night has made us more, rather than less. We assume that everybody can see and understand everything that we can plainly see, and that our unique insight into reality is simply common knowledge. It's not. But as a result of this assumption, we tend to dismiss our intellect as routine, or average, and invest all of our intellectual potential into being cool and “soulful” instead of in math, science, philosophy and psychology. By making that erroneous assumption, we're severely short-changing ourselves, and the world. So it is a must that Black people start to take our intellectual development more seriously, and make knowledge the new “soul.”</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">What Black people call "soul" is actually creativity, and as any cognitive scientist can tell you, creativity is intelligence.&nbsp; So if Black people are known for having soul, what that actually means is we're known for having intelligence.&nbsp; What we call soul is actually intelligence seeping out through the cracks as a result of not being used for other pursuits. Thus, the reason that Black people seem to have so much "soul," is because we were prevented from expressing our knowledge, intellect, and creativity in any other way. Later, we developed a hostility toward knowledge as a direct result of our history of bondage in this country, but it's time for all of that to come to an end.<br />.<br />During slavery, house slaves, who were the more educated among us, had a tendency to look down their noses at field slaves. As a result, many of us developed a hostility toward knowledge. We tend to feel that Black people who take pride in their intellect, or who are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge are trying to be White. So instead of embracing our intellect, many of us take great pains&nbsp; to hide it.&nbsp; That’s why Black intellectuals like Cornel West and Michael Eric Dyson are always trying to be so cool. Their attempt to be cool is actually an apology to the Black community for pursuing knowledge. Their actions tend to say, “Yeah, I’m a professor with multiple degrees, but that don’t mean I ain’t one of you.”&nbsp; What that demonstrates is that they feel that they have a moral obligation to be ignorant in order to prove their Blackness.”&nbsp; Young brothers on the street do the same thing when they say things like “What it be like?”,&nbsp; “What it is?”, or&nbsp; “Stay Woke.”&nbsp; They know that’s bad English, but they feel an obligation to sound illiterate to prove their Blackness.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">.<br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CF0pulmX05U/WnTOjKlB-ZI/AAAAAAAAGRY/8wcZLlZ2swIC8EslbaQ6SgDm9pEE16xZwCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BDOCTOR%2BKILLS%2BWHITE%2BMAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CF0pulmX05U/WnTOjKlB-ZI/AAAAAAAAGRY/8wcZLlZ2swIC8EslbaQ6SgDm9pEE16xZwCLcBGAs/s400/BLACK%2BDOCTOR%2BKILLS%2BWHITE%2BMAN.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">Another reason that many Black people feign ignorance is for survival. When my grandparents, who raised me while my mother was in college, would go back to visit Louisiana, they would never take me along. When I asked them why, my grandfather said, “Because you talk too much and you could get us killed.”&nbsp; You see, many White folks are very insecure, so during the Jim Crow era, one of the fastest ways for a Black person to be lynched was to let White folks know that he was smarter or better than them in any way. And even now, the fastest way to lose a job is to let your boss know that you’re smarter than he is.<br />.<br />There are a lot of White folks who don’t appreciate Blacks having the audacity to be intelligent at all, because it’s a direct assault on their delusion of superiority, and in many cases that delusion reinforces their entire sense of self-esteem - "I might not be much, but at least I'm better than them." That's the primary reason they hate Barack Obama so intensely, because he's walking and breathing proof that their delusion of superiority is a myth.&nbsp; Clear evidence of that can be seen in the fact that even though Obama has long since gone on about his business, Donald Trump is still trying to compete with him. You'd think that Barack was living next door. So old-school Black people had a rule of thumb that my grandfather laid out to me as a kid - “Never tell people everything you know.”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">.<br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RNtQSodPcXc/WnW6AfghpnI/AAAAAAAAGR0/4Aa5zNK05as7ljGn3bAw0fW3Dvqy472owCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BEXCELLENCE.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RNtQSodPcXc/WnW6AfghpnI/AAAAAAAAGR0/4Aa5zNK05as7ljGn3bAw0fW3Dvqy472owCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BEXCELLENCE.png" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">But it’s time to set those old traditions and attitudes aside.&nbsp; The new paradigm in this country is not just about race, but class. The Donald Trumps of this world don’t care any more about poor and working class White people than they do Blacks and other minorities, and Black people have a unique understanding of White supremacy that other groups lack, so it has become our responsibility to educate them. If poor and working class Americans are going to survive in this country, it’s is imperative for Black people to step up to the plate, because&nbsp; ironically, it’s going to fall on the shoulders of the Black community to first, educate itself, and then begin to educate others on how to deal with this greedy and self-serving beast - and we can do this.<br />.</span><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;">An excellent example of who we actually are was reflected around the turn of the 20<sup>th</sup></span><span style="color: black;"> Century, when you could find Black musicians sitting along the side of the road playing washboards, tubs, and anything they could put together that would make a sound. When people passed them by, including White musicians, they would simply smile, and sometimes even throw them a few pennies for the modest effort and industry that they displayed for even attempting to make real music with such crude instruments. </span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">These simple music-makers were looked upon as "quaint". There was no hostility towards them at all, because they weren't a threat. After all, they couldn't possibly be a threat to the White musicians, since they could never hope to get any real instruction in music. Most of them couldn't even read their names, so why should anyone ever worry about them learning to read music? They had to struggle just to get through grade school, so what threat did they pose to White musicians who had access to the great music conservatories of the world? </span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TNiCFhgN_MM/WnXQyHAQJ4I/AAAAAAAAGSA/UacXQYnVf6gHEtZX85jQ17h47fKE0UAWACLcBGAs/s1600/OBAMA_YOUNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="277" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TNiCFhgN_MM/WnXQyHAQJ4I/AAAAAAAAGSA/UacXQYnVf6gHEtZX85jQ17h47fKE0UAWACLcBGAs/s1600/OBAMA_YOUNG.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><b>WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS</b></div><div><b>YOUNG MAN WOULD BECOME ONE </b></div><div><b>OF OUR GREATEST PRESIDENTS?</b>&nbsp;</div></td></tr></tbody></table>Well, little did the world know that in the very near future, those simple little ragtag musicians with their makeshift instruments would morph into some of the greatest musicians the world has ever known. They would contribute one of the most important and harmonically complex forms of music to the world in the history of all mankind. Few knew at the time that one day Universities, musicologists, and music conservatories all over the world would struggle to understand the complexity of their musical genius, and even fewer could have guessed that many of these "quaint" musicians would someday become world renowned, and synonymous with their respective instruments–Louis Armstrong, Jellyroll Morton, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane–just to mention a few. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">As a point of irony, I began to typed "Duke" into Google, and the program completed my entry with a list that presented Duke Ellington before the Duke of Windsor. I'd say that says it all about the impact that the Black culture has had on this society, and the world.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">But what we've got to recognize and address as a community is that creativity is not restricted to just music. The reason that the creative genius of Black people has been reflected more in music than in business, science, or technology is because it was an area where we didn't have to depend on the approval of others, and more importantly, we were rewarded in the community for its development. We've also got to recognize, as any scientist who studies cognition well knows, creativity is not stagnant–it has associative properties that allow it to be transferred from one endeavor to another. Thus, as Barack Obama has clearly demonstrated, Black people have much more to offer the world than a twelve bar blues.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">But due to the racist history of this country, the intellectual capacity of Black people have always been grossly underestimated.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Thomas Jefferson said the following:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> “They [Black people] are more generally gifted than the whites with accurate ears for tune and time, and they have been found capable of imagining a small catch. … Whether they will be equal to the composition of a more extensive run of melody, or of complicated harmony, is yet to be proved.” <br />.</i></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Well, I wonder what Tom would have to say about this regarding our ability to be "<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">equal to the composition of a more extensive run of melody</span>?"</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><br />.</span></span><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftPO6cl5NXY" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br />So j<span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">ust as the Black community has educated the world in music, it now falls upon us to educate them in generalized knowledge and common sense. Thus, we must educate ourselves against divisiveness and begin to recognize that our battle is not against <i>THE</i> White man, but against a particular GROUP of White men. If we fail to recognize that fact and continue to allow them to stir division among the working class - Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics, gays and straights - we’ve already lost.&nbsp; Because as Barack Obama pointed out, we must begin to recognize that “<i>We</i> are the change that we seek.” <br />.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PrbUwAHa0hg" width="854"></iframe><br />.http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/02/why-many-black-people-feel-moral.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-2843520932804308526Fri, 02 Feb 2018 03:33:00 +00002018-02-03T14:50:54.160-08:00Black peopleGodPope Damasus IReligionThe BibleWattreeDID GOD CHOOSE ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE OVER OTHERS AND VALIDATE SLAVERY?<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>DID GOD CHOOSE ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE OVER OTHERS AND VALIDATE SLAVERY?<br />ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, HE DID - AND BLACK PEOPLE WORSHIP IT</b></div>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gEaiFjT3Sbw/WnPYGDNG3RI/AAAAAAAAGQ4/Kp2449nbrv49ngdgh31yVH3pcgn-oba7wCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_RELIGIOUS%2BPEOPLE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="170" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gEaiFjT3Sbw/WnPYGDNG3RI/AAAAAAAAGQ4/Kp2449nbrv49ngdgh31yVH3pcgn-oba7wCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_RELIGIOUS%2BPEOPLE.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Christians often tell me that they’re following the word of God as prescribed in the Bible, and as we all know, they say, the Bible is the word of God. We know that for a fact because the Bible says it’s the word of God in no uncertain terms. <br />.<br />In response, I tell them that they can just call me a mindless heathen and an instrument of “Satan” if I have to buy into that, because it strikes me as pure lunacy and lacking in common sense from my point of view. You cannot use the Bible to validate the Bible, yet, Christians do it routinely as though it’s a perfectly natural thing to do. <br />. <br />There are many reasons to question the veracity of the Bible’s claim to be the word of God, and one of the many reasons is it tends to share all of the prejudices of the people who wrote it. For example, it only acknowledges the people who wrote it as worthy of God’s interest. Did God only speak to them?&nbsp; It all but ignores women, and the people of other lands. Where is the book of Mumbulu, Nancy, or Chong, for example? They’re all but dismissed, because they were unimportant to the people who wrote and/or compiled the Bible. Do you really believe that God would select a “chosen people" over all others (For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are - Deuteronomy 14:2), or that God would validate slavery (Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ” - Ephesians 6:5)?&nbsp; I don’t think so, but according to the Bible, God did both.<br />.<br />The fact is, the “Holy Bible” that Christians Worship today was both compiled, and “blessed,” by the Catholic Church, not God, and any book that disagreed with the Catholic Church was banned.&nbsp; What Christians refer to as "The Holy Bible," and what preachers run around thumping, wasn’t even compiled until almost 400 years after the death of Jesus. So everything in it is hearsay.&nbsp; In terms of years, at the time the Bible was compiled they were twice as far away from the life and times of Jesus Christ as we are away from the life and times of George Washington today.&nbsp; So in reality, they didn’t know fact from fiction, or any more than we know about whether or not George Washington actually chopped down a cherry tree.<br />.<br />"For the first 300 years of Christianity, there was no Bible as we know it today.&nbsp; Christians had the Old Testament Septuagint, and literally hundreds of other books from which to choose.&nbsp; The Catholic Church realized early on that it had to decide which of these books were inspired and which ones weren't.&nbsp; The debates raged between theologians, Bishops, and Church Fathers for several centuries as to which books were inspired and which ones weren't.&nbsp; In the meantime, several Church Councils, or Synods, were convened to deal with the matter, notably, Rome in 382, Hippo in 393, and Carthage in 397 and 419.&nbsp; The debates sometimes became bitter on both sides.&nbsp; One of the most famous was between St. Jerome, who felt the seven books were not canonical, and St. Augustine who said they were.&nbsp; Protestants who write about this will invariably mention St. Jerome and his opposition, and conveniently omit the support of St. Augustine.&nbsp; <br />.<br />“I must point out here that Church Father's writings are not infallible statements, and their arguments are merely reflections of their own private opinions.&nbsp; There are always three sides to every story, this side, that side, and the side of truth.&nbsp; Whether Jerome's position, or Augustine's position was the correct position, had to be settled by a third party, and that third party was the Catholic Church.<br />.<br />"Now the story had a dramatic change as the Pope stepped in to settle the matter.&nbsp; In concurrence with the opinion of St. Augustine, and being prompted by the Holy Spirit, Pope St. Damasus I, at the Council of Rome in 382, issued a decree appropriately called, "The Decree of Damasus," in which he listed the canonical books of both the Old and New Testaments.&nbsp; He then asked St. Jerome to use this canon and to write a new Bible translation which included an Old Testament of 46 books, which were all in the Septuagint, and a New Testament of 27 books" <br />(http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080928064041AATOZUD).<br />.<br />SO THE POPE HAD SPOKEN, AND THE ISSUE WAS SETTLED.&nbsp; THUS, WHAT CHRISTIANS REFER TO AS "THE HOLY BIBLE" IS NOT THE WORD OF GOD, IT'S THE WORD OF POPE DAMASUS I.<br />.<br /><span style="color: black;">So as I pointed out in a previous article,&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">truth and common sense dictates that it's all nonsense. If a devout Christian born in Georgia had been born in Israel, he would be a devout Jew, or if in Iran, a devout Muslim, or if he’d been born in China he would be a devoted Buddhist. That clearly demonstrates that religion is not of God, but of man. People are actually socialized into believing what they believe. If God had created religion to guide us, would he have created so many of them that they would cause man to hate, brutalize and murder one another?&nbsp; I don't think so, not a loving God.&nbsp; </span><br />.<br />So from my point of view, the Bible is pure fiction, and it was written and compiled by its day's equivalent of the Republican National Committee.&nbsp; God has absolutely nothing to do with religion. Religion is the "word of man," not God. So anyone who chooses to believe in walking dead men and talking snakes over the common sense that was bestowed upon them by nature (God), has chosen to give the word of man priority over God.<br />.<br />God is whatever force, entity, or process that’s responsible for what we refer to as existence, so if we exist, God exists, regardless of whether God is a he, she, or it - but he hasn't said a word to nobody.&nbsp; The mere fact that we’re here to question God’s existence, however, proves God’s existence.&nbsp; But that’s all we know, and that's all we have to know - period.&nbsp;</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bhfnunOPrSA/WnY3xdA3TjI/AAAAAAAAGSM/UVtO6iIeJyc843RijHN6stHhiAV0ZxsCACLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIANITY_BARRY%2BGOLDWATER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bhfnunOPrSA/WnY3xdA3TjI/AAAAAAAAGSM/UVtO6iIeJyc843RijHN6stHhiAV0ZxsCACLcBGAs/s400/CHRISTIANITY_BARRY%2BGOLDWATER.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Eric L. Wattree&nbsp; </span></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">wattree.blogspot.com </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a> </span></span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102" style="text-decoration: none;"><u style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></div></div><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><br />http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/02/did-god-choose-one-group-of-people-over.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-851041492767822843Tue, 30 Jan 2018 13:38:00 +00002018-02-02T06:50:50.256-08:00ChristianityGodGreedManipulationsocializationWattreeCHRISTIANITY: IS IT REALLY ABOUT GOD, OR MANIPULATION AND GREED?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>CHRISTIANITY: IS IT REALLY ABOUT GOD, OR MANIPULATION AND GREED?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WoUX8cZnQ2A/WnAHRtp5qWI/AAAAAAAAGPw/0445Q48c_OcveF117KU8N_mW7miDnYSuACLcBGAs/s1600/Churches%2Band%2BHomeless%2BShelters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WoUX8cZnQ2A/WnAHRtp5qWI/AAAAAAAAGPw/0445Q48c_OcveF117KU8N_mW7miDnYSuACLcBGAs/s320/Churches%2Band%2BHomeless%2BShelters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">I give truth and common sense priority over any kind of political or religious ideology, because politics and religion are one and the same, they both deal in manipulating the naïve, gullible and uninformed for money and power. So my one and only philosophy is to follow truth wherever it leads and regardless to whose ox it gores. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">With that, most Christians would say, but "the word of God" <i>is</i> truth, and then immediately start quoting the Bible to prove their point and suggest that I'm a closed-minded heathen destined to go to Hell if I don't change my thinking. But these people have been so completely indoctrinated in Christian dogma throughout their lives that they completely fail to recognize that the only reason they accept the Bible as "the word of God" is because the Bible says it is, and they have absolutely no other evidence of that fact other than the Bible itself. </span><br />.<br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">But that's where "faith" and/or gullibility comes in, and why faith plays such an important role in ALL religions. Even though <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Jesus was born in the desert, and even the Bible describes him differently, Christians portray him as a White Scandinavian with blue eyes. If that were true they wouldn’t have had to crucify him, he would have died of Sunburn.&nbsp; So if they even lied about what the man looked like, what are the chances that they're telling us the truth about what he, or anybody else said? It's not very likely. So I view Jesus as an enlightened philosopher - period. He wasn’t God, or any more supernatural than the rest of us. That’s why when they stabbed him, he died just like the rest of us are going to - and he's not coming back, so we need to give that Hocus-Pocus nonsense a rest. This is real life, not Mother Goose, and we're adults, not children.<br />.<br />In a 1841 speech, Frederick Douglass said he was in church and witnessed a young Christian White woman go into a trance. When she came out of it she claimed to have visited Heaven.&nbsp; When she was asked were there any Black people there, she hesitated, and then said, “I don’t know.&nbsp; I didn’t go into the kitchen.”&nbsp; Can you believe that any person who is that far out of touch with reality is being informed by God?&nbsp;</span></span><br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JsLMl2kEdC4/WnIgsGgGN6I/AAAAAAAAGQU/AQuzhqOP-fIWENyhODKjTMEjbcuqVRBkACLcBGAs/s1600/LYNCHING.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="201" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JsLMl2kEdC4/WnIgsGgGN6I/AAAAAAAAGQU/AQuzhqOP-fIWENyhODKjTMEjbcuqVRBkACLcBGAs/s1600/LYNCHING.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">Nevertheless, one of the main tenets of Christianity is that its adherents maintain absolute and unwavering "faith" in what they are told.&nbsp; One of the worst sins that can be committed by a Christian is to lose faith - not just faith in God, but faith in what they're being<i> told</i> about God. This serves two very important purposes.&nbsp; First, it prevents people from even thinking about whether or not what they're being told makes sense, and secondly, it allows preachers - or "men of God" - to step into God's place as his surrogate.&nbsp; So essentially, they <i>become</i> God, and speak on his behalf. As a result, many Christians are not actually worshipping God, but their preachers. That's why they make them so rich.<br />.<br />When Christians give to the church, subconsciously, they think they're buying their way into Heaven. For a mere 10% of their earnings they can receive absolution for all of the dirt and abuse of others they've committed that week. That leaves them perfectly free to go out and commit more social atrocities the following week - like firing people from badly needed jobs, mowing down unarmed Black people on the street, or letting the people who commit said murders go free - and all in good conscience, and with God's blessing. So it's the perfect solution for everybody - it keeps scoundrels free to commit sin, and the "men of God" in big homes and fancy cars.&nbsp; And they do all of these things in the name of God, and with the ardent support of the very people who are the most negatively impacted by it.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">But truth and common sense dictates that it's all nonsense. If a devout Christian born in Georgia had been born in Israel, he would be a devout Jew, or if in Iran, a devout Muslim, or if he’d been born in China he would be a devoted Buddhist. That clearly demonstrates that religion is not of God, but of man. People are actually socialized into believing what they believe. If God had created religion to guide us, would he have created so many of them that they would cause man to hate, brutalize and murder one another?&nbsp; I don't think so, not a loving God.&nbsp; </span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9R82qpAYppw/WnB2_uieEqI/AAAAAAAAGQA/BQv2ozUh_WosQDPzfj1SHLLo4T-0mFXDwCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_DON%2527T%2BTHINK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="220" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9R82qpAYppw/WnB2_uieEqI/AAAAAAAAGQA/BQv2ozUh_WosQDPzfj1SHLLo4T-0mFXDwCLcBGAs/s320/CHRISTIAN_DON%2527T%2BTHINK.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: small;">PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MIND&nbsp;</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif; font-size: small;">GOD GAVE YOU, JUST LISTEN TO ME.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /></span></b></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">So although it is claimed that religion was placed on Earth as a blessing to mankind from a loving God, in reality, organized religion is without a doubt the most evil and destructive force on the face of the Earth.&nbsp; It’s the primary source of all manner of hatred, bigotry, and misery in the world, and that's an indisputable fact.&nbsp; </span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">Nevertheless, if a person chooses to be a "Believer" that's up to them.&nbsp; Ordinarily there would be no problem with that if people would simply believed what they believed and go on about their business. But that's not good enough for people who are prone to be religious fanatics.&nbsp; They're convinced that they're carrying out God's will, so they want to proselytize, and shove their religious beliefs down everybody else's throats, and then, go on to <i>demand</i> that laws be passed to institutionalize their beliefs. A perfect example of that mindset at work was senatorial candidate, Roy Moore. He wanted to make it against the law for gay people to marry, but thought it was perfectly alright to molest 14-year-old girls. We have the same problem with Donald Trump, who routinely uses narrow-minded religious bigotry to gain support for mean-spirited social policies. So instead of the people's so-called love of God spreading love and enlightenment throughout the world, it's being used to sew hatred, misery, and division among the people.<br />.<br />The fact is, God is whatever force, entity, or process that’s responsible for what we refer to as existence, so if we exist, God exists, regardless of whether God is a he, she, or it - but he hasn't said a word to nobody. The mere fact that we’re here to question God’s existence, however, proves God’s existence. But that’s all we know, and that's all we have to know - period.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">I recognized these facts as a mere child, and I also recognized that I didn't have to be religious to be Godly.&nbsp; I'm one of the most God-loving people I know, but I don't feel that I have to believe in walkin’ dead men, talkin' snakes, or have to put up with foolish preachers struttin' around on stage giving paid spoken-word concerts every Sunday morning to prove I love God. Embracing that nonsense is where loving God crosses over into brainwashing and Voodoo, and it's shocking to me how many otherwise intelligent people buy into it. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">As a rule, the more undereducated people are, the more religious and bigoted they tend to be, and if they're Black, they tend to be more conservative, critical of other Blacks, and eager-to-please and submissive toward Whites. I could never identify with such people, so as a young adult I came up with my own religion.&nbsp; I guess you could call it the Gospel of Wattreeism. My Bible is only one page long, and has only three Commandments:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span><br /><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">1). LIVE THE BEST LIFE YOU CAN.</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">2). HELP OTHERS WHENEVER YOU CAN.</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">AND</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">3). MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSINESS.</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">Now, that's Godly, because it doesn't create hatred, hostility, mayhem, or chaos, and I think God would agree with my basic theology, because God’s where I got it, not from some money-hungry and fanatical preacher. It's important to remember that Jesus didn't have any "faith" in the word of any man. He found God within himself, because that's where God resides, and when I seek God’s council, that’s where I look.&nbsp; On the other hand, the video below portrays what you get from organized religion - maybe not always so blatant, but the end-game is always the same - money:</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>CHRISTIANITY: IS IT ABOUT GOD, OR GREED?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B2kQdpjV9Ds" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Eric L. Wattree&nbsp; </div>wattree.blogspot.com <br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a> <br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;"><u style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.<br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/01/christianity-is-it-really-about-god-or.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-8630433585873240302Sat, 27 Jan 2018 01:37:00 +00002018-01-30T14:08:40.113-08:00Big Joe LangfordDivaHarrietJazzJimmy "J.J." JeffersMacRobert "Iceberg Slim" BeckSolitudeWattree OLD SCHOOL<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Beneath the Spin*Eric L. </span><span style="color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Wattree</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">OLD SCHOOL</span></b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ar_SYJMIzcc/Wmu6zDxfAnI/AAAAAAAAGO4/s2aJzHPYrsAmuirwzs4lhTrwhrpjOzEYACLcBGAs/s1600/WATTREE_SOLITUDE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="850" height="179" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ar_SYJMIzcc/Wmu6zDxfAnI/AAAAAAAAGO4/s2aJzHPYrsAmuirwzs4lhTrwhrpjOzEYACLcBGAs/s320/WATTREE_SOLITUDE.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">I’ve always loved people, but you’d never know it, because I avoid spending a lot of time with them. I’m a loner. I’m not a hermit, but grinnin’ in people’s face for hours at a time makes my face hurt. So unlike many people, I’m my own best friend, and I’m quite comfortable with my own company.&nbsp; I used to assume that I was like that because when I got married I loved Val, Kai, and Lil’ Eric so much that I only wanted to hangout with them.&nbsp; But after having time to think and write about it, I began to recognize that I’ve always been a loner. When I was a teenager I never liked to go to parties because I was into jazz, so there was no reason for me to go because I didn’t like to boogie. But if I did decide to go for some reason my reception was like - “Girl, you ain’t gonna believe who just walked through the door!”&nbsp; So I felt like a freak, like all eyes were on me, and watching my every move. I was out of my element, and everybody knew it. I was like a jellyfish on a football field. There was nothing for me to do but stand around and try to look cool, so I felt ridiculous.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">But even before that, being a loner was just my nature, because the things I liked to do best were things that I could only do alone; that’s why I was worried about getting too close to the Diva. Val understood me, because she’d known me since she was 14 years old, but Diva didn’t have the benefit of that knowledge. I worried about that, because my behavior doesn’t always reflect what I’m feeling inside. I loved my mother dearly, but she used to say, “Eric, you were never been a normal child. You deprived me of that. When I tried to hug and kiss you, you’d squirm out of my arms and made me feel like you wanted to wipe your face. It’s your father in you.”&nbsp; As a teenager my mother had to <i>make</i> me put down my horn and come out of my room to eat dinner with the rest of the family, and from time to time she would check my arms to make sure I wasn't shootin' dope.&nbsp; I loved my family, but they had my siblings to hug and cuddle.&nbsp; I just wanted to be left alone, so I felt put upon, and at 16 I finally moved out on my own to escape the personal intrusion. But that was also the year that mother introduced Val into my life, and Val was able to do the job that she couldn't.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gZLbNm54Nd0/WmzW3gwl_eI/AAAAAAAAGPM/kwfmGCr1WGIjM71Gx0rNolC7si7zVZaeACLcBGAs/s1600/JAZZ_TRANE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gZLbNm54Nd0/WmzW3gwl_eI/AAAAAAAAGPM/kwfmGCr1WGIjM71Gx0rNolC7si7zVZaeACLcBGAs/s1600/JAZZ_TRANE.jpg" /></span></span></a></div>One of the reasons that <span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">I’ve always loved jazz was because Bird, Monk, Miles and Trane seemed like my kind of people.&nbsp; I felt like only they, would understand where I was coming from, except for my father.&nbsp; He was just as remote as I was, so we were more like road dawgs than father and son. He treated my older brother, Virgil, with the tenderness of a son, but he treated me like a road dawg, or one of the dudes who worked for him. I guess he felt that I was already set in my ways, so our relationship was sorta different. When I was a teenage, on two separate occasions, he'd be going with a woman, and I'd be going with her daughter (he and my mother were no longer together). <span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">My mother and I were more like brother and sister as well.</span>&nbsp; <span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I overheard my mother tell one of her friends, "I gave birth to a Bohemian in that one - he's just like his damn daddy, cold as ice."&nbsp; I don't think she was actually criticizing me, she was just saying I was different, as all of her friends already knew - I'd had an affair with two of them, and one of them was the woman she was talking to.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">At the time I loved the relationship that I had with my parents, because it made me feel like a peer, b</span>ut</span> now that I look back on it, and the relationship I have with my own son and daughter, I often wonder what I missed. But I’ve got to hand it to Mac, he taught me to be a man, and he gave me a no nonsense attitude toward life that I use both to live by, and in my writings to this day - everything is about the bottom line; you call a hat a hat, and no bullshit tap dancin’ around reality. That, and the love of jazz was his legacy to me. My mother's legacy was teaching me to love, unconditionally.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Below was me at about seven years old, about five years before my father showed up with my first saxophone. The house that I mention was the one that Mac moved Jimmy into to teach me to play:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">SOLITUDE</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span><b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">There was a little house in Watts, in the back my grandparents’ home, that sat totally silent just for me. It sat there in complete obedience to fulfil it’s one and only purpose, to accommodate, and give focus to the thoughts of a young and aimless mind. Totally vacant accept for a sofa and a table, there was no furniture to warm the air.&nbsp; So as I sat in it’s embrace, and quietly drew the thoughts I couldn't express, I could feel the clean, cool air against my face, as it locked the noise and confusion of humanity out of that small niche of the universe that I had claimed as my own.</span></span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bWewMICcBZo/Wmu0-VAUQWI/AAAAAAAAGOo/m3x52sY12cYtXFL4TYzdjYMyEgXUo1JwwCLcBGAs/s1600/WATTREE_STICKMEN%252C%2BHI.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="420" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bWewMICcBZo/Wmu0-VAUQWI/AAAAAAAAGOo/m3x52sY12cYtXFL4TYzdjYMyEgXUo1JwwCLcBGAs/s200/WATTREE_STICKMEN%252C%2BHI.png" width="200" /></span></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: small;">Hello, my friend. I'm back.&nbsp;</span></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> I loved that house, because it introduced the soul of a child to the beauty of solitude. I would sit there for hours with paper and pencil, trying to bring life to my thoughts. I couldn't write back then, so I would breathe substance into my world by drawing the images of crude little stickmen that I would speak to, then patiently awaited the time when they could speak back. I loved those little sessions with myself. I think that's why I became a writer instead of a working musician, because writing was a psychiatrically approved excuse to talk to myself, and as a working musician I'd be forced to seek approval, and be part of the crowd.&nbsp; That's my curse - I love music, but I hate the music business.&nbsp; But writing is perfect for me, I can do it alone, I can say whatever is on my mind, and I don't have to grin at people until my face hurt.</span><br style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> So that little house played a very important role in my life, and all these many years later, I still go there, but only in my mind. I return to escape life’s horrors;&nbsp; I also visit to celebrate life’s triumphs. I go there to commune with those who left me behind.&nbsp; My grandparents are there, my mother is there, and my late wife is there to comfort me when I’m lost.&nbsp; But my manhood is also there to reinforce me, and the depth of my intellect resides there to inform me, and to give flesh to the stickmen I'd left behind.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"> So, yes, I love that little house, and the perfect solitude that it made all mine. I also love the cool, clean air, and the crude little stickmen, it always brings to mind. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">THE BUILDING OF A JAZZ MAN</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-01aB3XMIPxE/Wmu0VCHtdoI/AAAAAAAAGOg/uTxZs3VpVnEmmH7RS5_WG84y7h10_pvywCEwYBhgL/s1600/Sax%2BPlayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-01aB3XMIPxE/Wmu0VCHtdoI/AAAAAAAAGOg/uTxZs3VpVnEmmH7RS5_WG84y7h10_pvywCEwYBhgL/s1600/Sax%2BPlayer.jpg" /></span></span></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There are two things in this world that allow me to remain sane–writing and music. I’d be in absolute agony if I ever had to choose one over the other, because they are one–one is an extension of the other. Each in its own way allow me to express a part of my being. There are some concepts that I can only express in words, in which case, I sit down and begin to write; but there are other things that spring from a place so deep within my soul--the pain of loss, deception, or of being disappointed by a friend or loved one, for example--that can only be expressed through raw emotion, which means my horn--it's cathartic. So I’d be completely remiss if I didn’t mention such an important part of my life in the context of this written interview.</span><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The saxophone keeps me connected to my roots, and who I am fundamentally, so it contributes to my writing in that way as well. Sometimes when I get on my high horse and begin to speak the superficial language of the Washington pundits or the mainstream media, I simply have to glance at my horn to remember why I started writing in the first place–to present the views of those who are too often overlooked. In fact, it reminds me that I’m much more of a translator than I am a writer. &nbsp;I seek to translate the emotional truths that Bird, Miles,<span style="background-color: white;">Trane,</span> and others set forth in their harmonic and melodic constructions into readable prose. As I mentioned above, that’s not always possible, but my horn keeps me in touch with my mission, and it reminds me to remain focused on doing the best I can in that respect.</span><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">M<span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">y father put my horn in my hands when I was a kid. While he had many flaws - one of my first memories in life was of the police coming to my house in the middle of the night, shooting my dog, and dragging Mac off to the penitentiary - but at his core, he was a good man, a loving father, and a jazz fanatic. For him, the Sun only rose in the morning so it could keep Bird's reeds warm. So he wasn’t able to give me much, but what he did give me turned out to be one of the most potent and enduring forces in my life.</span></span></span></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> I’ll never forget the day he gave me that horn. It was on a Sunday morning. He opened the case, and there it was, smiling at me for the very first time, with its pearly-white keypads and glistening gold body gleaming in the sunlight against the deep blue felt lining of its case. Even now, I can remember my excitement as the newness of it’s smell filled my young nostrils.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> But to my surprise, he also brought Jimmy home with him - for what, I didn’t know. Jimmy was the neighborhood’s quintessential dope fiend and general substance abuser.&nbsp; So, to my even greater surprise, it turned out that he had brought Jimmy home to teach me to play the saxophone. I was very doubtful that Jimmy could teach anyone to do anything but shoot dope, toss back a pint or two and nod, but I wasn’t worried about that at the time - I just couldn’t wait for him to put that horn together. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> It seemed like it took Jimmy forever to extract the pad-saver and adjust the reed on the mouthpiece. Then they finally put the strap around my neck. Jimmy showed me where to place my fingers, and then I blew my first official note on the saxophone, and I&nbsp;got one of the most horrifically agonizing sounds out of that horn that ANYONE has ever heard. It made my mother jump up out of bed and run into the living room yelling, "What is going on in here!!!?"</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> I became immediately frustrated, because I just couldn’t figure out how something that was so beautiful could produce such a horrible sound. Then my father said, "Wait a minute, son. Jimmy, show him how this thing is supposed to sound."</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Jimmy, as I mentioned before, was not only a dope fiend, but over the years he had degenerated into an extremely unkempt drunk as well. He had become the kind of person who was completely dismissed by even the most down-on-their-luck adults, and the kids used to like to play practical jokes on him when we found him nodded-out somewhere in the neighborhood. And I'm now ashamed to say that I was one of the most prolific and abusive of the bunch.&nbsp;But when&nbsp;Jimmy put that horn into his mouth and began to play "Round Midnight," he became a different person. Now he was in his element - Jimmy was in command. All of the disappointments and humiliations in life slipped under his fingers and out the bell of that horn as some of the most beautiful licks that I’d ever heard before or since.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Even as a kid I could see the confidence, the focus, and knowledge reflected in his eyes. I could see the young Jimmy. I could see all of his hopes and dreams that seems to have gone astray. And to this day, I have never heard ANYBODY play "Round Midnight" with such passion and ease of facility, and I’ve heard it played by some of the greatest saxophone players who has ever lived, but not one of them has been able to touch me in the spot that Jimmy reached that Sunday morning of my youth. And this was playing cold, on a brand new saxophone, and he probably hadn’t touched a horn in years - and not to mention he was loaded (one of the last times I ever saw him in that condition, by the way).</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> When Jimmy was done, my father told me, in his typically graphic and offhand way, "Now, I want you to hang on to this horn like it’s your momma’s <span style="background-color: white;">tiddy</span>, and you’ll never be broke or alone." Then he looked over at Jimmy and added, "unless you start shootin’ that shit." I followed my father’s advice, and his words have turned out to be prophetic. But actually, after watching the transformation in Jimmy when he picked up that horn, my father didn’t have to say another word.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> So even as I respond to this interview, and speak of my love for the written word, a lifelong friend sits in its stand with that same beautiful smile that first greeted me as a child. The beauty of its song is a constant reminder that the written word is only one part of my life. Unlike a corporeal being, its only reason for existence is to carry out the blessing of a long departed father upon his son. But much like a sensuously flawless and indulgent woman, it waits patiently, still gleaming in the sunlight with its glistening keys and curvaceous body, as though longing for my loving and passionate embrace.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">T</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">hank you, Jimmy, for&nbsp;pulling your life together long enough to give me one. This one's for you, my man.</span></span></span></b><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2XN46WwTSnM" width="560"></iframe></span></span> <span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span> <span style="color: #00264c;"></span><br /><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 12px 9.6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">A SWINGIN’ AFFAIR</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></b></span></div></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>I<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>was told as a child<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br /><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 12px 9.6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Blacks had no worth,<br /> Not a nickel’s worth of dimes.<br /> I believed that myth<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br /> ‘Til Dex rode in<br /> With his ax<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br /> In double time.</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">His<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">horn was soarin’,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">T<b>he changes flyin’,</b></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">His rhythm right on time;</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">My heart<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Beat with the pleasure<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Of new found pride,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Knowing</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">His blood<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b>Flowed through mine.</b></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">.</span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">Dex<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></b></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Took the chords</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b>The keyboard played,</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b>And danced around each note;</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">Then shuffled ‘em<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></b></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b>Like a deck of cards,</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b>And didn’t miss a stroke.</b></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span></div></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 12px 9.6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">B minor 7 with flatted 5th,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">a half diminished chord,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">He substituted a lick in D,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Then really began to soar.</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">He tipped his hat<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">To Charlie Parker,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">and quoted<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Trane with Miles,</span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Then paid his homage to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Thelonious Monk,</span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">In Charlie Rouse’s style.</span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">He took<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">a Scrapple From The Apple,</span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Then went to Billie’s Bounce,</span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The rhythm section, now</span> on fire,</span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">But he didn’t budge an ounce.</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">He just</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">dug right in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">to shuffle again,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">This time</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">A Royal Flush,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Then lingered a bit<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Behind the beat,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Still smokin’</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">But in no rush.</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Then he</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">doubled the time</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">just like this rhyme,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">in fluid 16th notes,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">tellin’</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Charlie and Lester,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">“your baby boy, Dexter’s,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">on top of the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">bebop you wrote.”</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Wailin’<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">like a banshee,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">this prince of saxophone,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">His ballads dripped of honey,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">His Arpeggios were strong.</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Callin’ on his idles,</span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Ghost of Pres’<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">within in the isles,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">smiling at his protege,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">At the peak of this new style.</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">His tenor</span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Drenched of Blackness,</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">And all the things we are–</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Of pain, and pleasure,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">And creative greatness</span></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Until his final bar.</span></b></span></span></div></div><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></i></b></span></div></div><div style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin: 13.33px 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctu4HVG0Rzg/Uw12rBZdxPI/AAAAAAAAB3k/ZMp3pre-mJs/s1600/Hustler.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-right: 13.33px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /></a><strong style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">THE HUSTLERS</span></span></strong><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctu4HVG0Rzg/Uw12rBZdxPI/AAAAAAAAB3k/ZMp3pre-mJs/s1600/Hustler.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-right: 13.33px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctu4HVG0Rzg/Uw12rBZdxPI/AAAAAAAAB3k/ZMp3pre-mJs/s1600/Hustler.png" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" /></span></span></a><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><br /> ______________________________<br /> It is not my intent to promote living outside the law. &nbsp; I’m against that - period. &nbsp; But knowledge is power, and the fact is,&nbsp;the hustlers of my youth had a tremendous impact on my life, just as the current wannabes have on the lives of many Black youth today.&nbsp; So I want to&nbsp;do two things&nbsp;in this piece&nbsp;- first, I want to make it clear to the Black youth of today that most of&nbsp;what they think of as "hustlers" were not anything like they're being portrayed in the media; and secondly, I want to give&nbsp;the wider audience a perspective on how these Black "renegades" are perceived by Black youth by allowing them to&nbsp;view these hustlers through the eyes of my youth.<br /> ________________________________</span></span></strong></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Many young people in "the hood" are fascinated by the mystique of the hustler. While I see education as the preferred mode of upward mobility, I can understand how the renegade persona of the hustler mystique has captured their imagination. But their idea of a hustler has been forged by the media,&nbsp;where they're portrayed as murderous sociopaths who specialized in victimizing the community. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span></span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H7fDaONymhs/Wm0b6VNRH8I/AAAAAAAAGPc/Cc99CLY_EBU0JN4DIhHoj1NHl26XnUsTwCLcBGAs/s1600/VAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="749" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H7fDaONymhs/Wm0b6VNRH8I/AAAAAAAAGPc/Cc99CLY_EBU0JN4DIhHoj1NHl26XnUsTwCLcBGAs/s320/VAL.jpg" width="249" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: small;">VALDIE WATTREE</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">As a result of that portrayal, many young wannabes seem to feel that they have to run around ravaging the community to build their "street<span style="background-color: white;"> creds" as a bonafide </span>hustler. </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">But that's not how old-school hustlers were at all. I know, because both me and my late wife, Val,&nbsp;were children of this culture. She was the niece of Big Joe <span style="background-color: white;">Langford</span>, a well known hustler in Los Angeles, and I was the son of Mac McClain, who was <i>Mr. Drugs</i> in Los Angeles in the fifties and sixties, and they&nbsp;brought Val and I together as teenagers (My mother, and Val's aunt). <span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">My maternal grandfather insisted that I wear his sir name so I wouldn't grow up with the unnecessary baggage of my fathers infamy, but that didn't do no good. Both the police, and school administrators, had me tagged before I was even given a chance to define myself, so life was an uphill battle from the start. But there were also benefits.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">When&nbsp;Val and I were about to go on&nbsp;our first date, a gigolo by the name of Shelton called me earlier that day from out of the blue and said,&nbsp;"Hey Eric, I hear you and <span style="background-color: white;">Valdie </span>are hooking up. &nbsp;I was just thinking, man, you know, that's Big Joe's niece, so you're gon' have to come strong. So check this out.&nbsp;Why don't I scrape me up a chauffeur's cap and swing by your pad tonight and we can pick her&nbsp;up in my Bentley?&nbsp;We can give her a night she'll never forget. Just leave it to me" - and that's exactly what happened. We were in good hands with Shelton, because as a male escort, that was what Shelton specialized in, showing women a good time. He did it for the Hollywood studios.&nbsp;&nbsp;My father had given&nbsp;me forty dollars to take Val out, but I didn't have to&nbsp;spend a penny of it. Everything was taken care of.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">The night started with Shelton pulling up to&nbsp;Val's house with me sitting in the backseat, and then he went to&nbsp;Val's door and retrieved her.&nbsp; Thereafter, he escorted&nbsp;her to the Bentley, and as he opened the backdoor to&nbsp;helped her in, he touched the front of his cap - and from that moment on, she got the Cinderella treatment all night long.&nbsp; Essentially, this was Shelton's date, I was just along for the ride, and Val talked about that night until the day she died. She used to say, "That Shelton was the prettiest man I've ever seen in my life!"<br /> .<br /> That night, Big Joe made absolutely sure that what I smelled what'n cookin'.&nbsp; I didn't realize that Shelton was actually our chaperone until I was grown. I had been what they called "finessed by the best." But when I looked into Val's eyes, I knew that Big Joe was fighting a losing battle. He might have won that night, but it was just a matter of time - a very short time - because even now, long after her death, I'm still trying to live up to the man I saw reflected in her eyes. That woman was in<i> love</i> with me, and I never could figure out why.&nbsp; I just went with it, and did everything in my power to keep her from ever finding out that I wasn't all that.&nbsp; But to this day, I don't know who manipulated who, because in time, she even had <i>me</i> thinking I was the man, but you see, a man was what she needed to help raise her babies.&nbsp; So maybe Big Joe wasn't the only player in her family.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">When Val and I got married at 19 and 21 years old, our wedding reception looked like a peacock's parade. Due to Big Joe and Mac, every hustler, musician, and wannabe in town was there.&nbsp; And then when Kai and Eric was born, in spite of our young age -&nbsp;and the fact that I was penniless - we always lived under palm trees and at the edge of swimming pools.&nbsp;We never wanted for anything. Every time money got tight, something seemed to fall out of the sky. The guy at the liquor would say, "Hey Eric, I need some help around here.&nbsp;How'd you like to come help me out&nbsp;in the evenings after you get off from work?"&nbsp; And I mean, from out of the blue!&nbsp; I had just come to get a drink, not a job, but I sure could use it, because&nbsp;while the price of rent in the "Jungle" was only $165 a month back then, that was twice what most people were paying for rent at the time - and it was considered outrageous for a 22 year-old, because back then, if you made over a hundred dollars a week, you had a pretty good job, but out of a quirk of circumstance, I was making that a day.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br />A<span style="background-color: white; color: black;">fter I started working at the liquor store the local gangsters started coming in and selling me top-of-the-line ten-speed bikes for $15 a piece, which I would turn around and sell for a $100 dollars or more. I never bothered to inquire where they got them, but&nbsp;I knew they weren't being taken from kids, because they were brand spankin' new. At one point they were bringing me between 3 and 5 of them a day.&nbsp; Before long one of the bedrooms in my apartment looked like a 10-speed showroom, and after it overflowed I started paying a friend to let me use his garage. Everybody in Baldwin Hills knew that if they wanted ten-speeds that I was the go-to guy. And again, this just started happening from&nbsp;out of the blue -&nbsp;and I was making a killin'!&nbsp; What my father was to drugs, and Big Joes was with the ladies, I was to 10-speeds - at least in the Baldwin Hills area.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br />Also during that time,<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"> Big Joe encouraged us to enroll Kai and Eric in Windsor Hills Elementary School. I anticipated districting problems, but when we got there it was like they expected us. They were in school the next day.&nbsp; As a result of that move, Kai and Eric&nbsp; went to school with the children of doctors, lawyers, and politicians. And once they got there, they were assigned a teacher, Ms. Faye Armstrong, who became their PERMANENT teacher.&nbsp; They didn't change teachers every year like most kids. We got so close with Faye that we used to go out to dinner together, and Kai became so close&nbsp;to her that she began to take on Faye's Texas drawl. By the time Kai graduated, Faye had her so sharp that she was doing her class' valedictorian speech. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">So I strongly suspect that something was at work here, because when I look back on it, Kai and Eric grew up&nbsp;like royalty. It seemed like even when I did something wrong, it somehow, miraculously, turned out right. &nbsp;As a young man, I always wanted to think it was about what Val and I&nbsp;were doing right, but was it? Today I'm almost certain invisible hands were at work in the background, because the chances of two kids getting married at 19 and 21 years old&nbsp;and managing to raise two children into adulthood without hitting even&nbsp;ONE bump in the road severely challenges the odds of statistical probability. When we were raising Kai and Eric, we literally, never struggled. Life was one big party.&nbsp;Our home was a house with four kids in it, running itself&nbsp;. . . or so it seemed.</span><br /><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">﻿</span></strong></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 6.66px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: -88.4px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bguaqjYDl-U/VIBbHRA5kzI/AAAAAAAAC9M/l4hhU_bnx1U/s1600/Kai%2Bat%2BWindsor%2BHills%2BElementary%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><strong style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" height="538" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bguaqjYDl-U/VIBbHRA5kzI/AAAAAAAAC9M/l4hhU_bnx1U/s1600/Kai%2Bat%2BWindsor%2BHills%2BElementary%2BSchool.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="640" /></span></span></strong></a></td></tr><tr style="margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif; font-size: small;">Kai Doing The Valedictorian Speech</span></span></strong></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">So what these hustlers&nbsp;actually were, were flamboyant and bigger-than-life businessmen who didn't pay taxes - and that was during a time when Black people didn't have the opportunities that we have today. But, in spite of the fact they lived slightly outside the law,&nbsp;most were very responsible and caring people in many ways. </span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Many of these people had a lot of class, wisdom, and knowledge. When my father was arrested and sent away, they came together and got my mother a job as a greeter at the world renowned Dynamite Jackson’s jazz club, and then,&nbsp;helped send her through nursing school. She later not only became a nurse, but a PA (Physician’s Assistant) - the closest you can come to a doctor without actually becoming one - thanks to her close friend and mentor, Dr. Morris P. Atkins. They opened the 55th St Medical Group together. That's where I met Val. My mother hired her when Val was only 14 years old to send Christmas cards to the patients.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">In return for the assistance&nbsp;that my mother had been given by&nbsp;people in the community, when people in the&nbsp;neighborhood needed medical attention but couldn't afford to pay, my mother would treat them right there in our home - for free.&nbsp;And the community was good to her as well.&nbsp;A multi-faceted&nbsp; hustler by the name of Eddie Carr&nbsp;pulled up one day with a huge box (I'll never forget Big Eddie; he was a very suave and elegant brother who used to always wear cummerbunds. He was also a singer&nbsp;-&nbsp;"It's Hard But It's Fair"). &nbsp;He told my mother, "Hey, Ver, I&nbsp;ran across this&nbsp;the other day and it had Verlee written all over it, so I thought I'd pick it up for you" - it was a FUR throw rug.&nbsp; It became one of my mother's prize possessions - not only because it was so beautiful and expensive, but because Big Eddie was thoughtful enough to get it for her. And Buddy Cox, who dealt in clothing, kept me as clean as a young man could be in top-of-line slack suits. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">As early as junior high school I used to go to school dressed like a&nbsp;grown man.&nbsp; I had acquired the hustlers' taste&nbsp;and style, so I used to go to school wearing expensive slack suits, Floresheim's, and jewelry - not gaudy&nbsp;and ostentatious stuff like you see today (quiet style was what it was about back then), but I dressed&nbsp;much too old for my years, and that caused me a few problems. It brought suspicion upon me, and I was looked upon by many of the staff as a bad influence on the "kids."&nbsp;Every time something went wrong at school they would come and pluck me out of class,&nbsp;even though&nbsp;I wouldn't know a thing about what was going on. And the irony was, I was probably one of the few students there that was there for the right reasons. The hustlers taught me to respect knowledge, so I was there trying to soak up everything I could get. But I had been profiled, much like the hustlers themselves. None of the administrators&nbsp;liked my image, and that haunted me. It&nbsp; caused me a lot of trouble, both in, and out of school until I was 19 years old - but it also led to<a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/2014/11/in-order-for-america-to-thrive-it-must.html" style="text-decoration: none;"> the event that changed my life.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">So while old-school hustlers weren't all angels,&nbsp;and they&nbsp;were capable of emphasizing a point quite brutally when necessary, that was simply a matter of survival, not their preferred method of operation.&nbsp; For the most part, they&nbsp;weren't&nbsp;vultures&nbsp;going around victimizing the community like they're often portrayed in the media.&nbsp;Many contributed to&nbsp;the community&nbsp;in many ways, including participating in assemblies and "May Day" parades that was put on by Holmes Ave. Elementary School.&nbsp;And I personally benefitted greatly from my exposure to them. They taught me a lot, which I try to pass on in my writings. So I look back upon them with much fondness<em>.</em></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><em><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">&nbsp;*</span></span></em></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">THIS IS WHAT IT WAS REALLY LIKE</span></strong></span><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><br /></span></b></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iRdlvzIEz-g" width="420"></iframe></span><br /> <span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"> As I was strollin’ down memory lane, thinking about the old-school hustlers of my youth,&nbsp;I couldn't help but think about&nbsp;how different they were than many of the wannabes&nbsp;that we see around&nbsp;today.&nbsp;First, they weren't in it for show. They were hustling to maintain a lifestyle that society was doing it's very best to deny them. &nbsp;No joggin’ suits, baseball caps&nbsp;and tennis shoes for these brothers, it was Florsheims &nbsp;and very expensive&nbsp;Brooks Bros. suits all the way -&nbsp;and you’d never see ‘em in the same one for weeks. And they weren't loud and crude cutthroats. While they undoubtedly lived outside the law, they reflected a style&nbsp;that was all their own - elegant and laid back, although, with&nbsp;an edge that said to anyone with anything less than the purest of motives, "I not the one." &nbsp;</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span> <span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-weXFLkvGlX0/VH9Dbnmjt_I/AAAAAAAAC8Y/mSh_gr5ZVGI/s1600/Pimpmobile.png%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-right: 13.33px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-weXFLkvGlX0/VH9Dbnmjt_I/AAAAAAAAC8Y/mSh_gr5ZVGI/s1600/Pimpmobile.png%2B2.png" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" /></span></span></a><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Billy Dee Williams&nbsp;would have fit right in with these brothers, because he has their&nbsp;persona down to the last digit. Their most pronounced characteristic was class and style, not brutish swagger as they're often portrayed.&nbsp;They were the product of&nbsp;an era where class was everything.&nbsp; These were gentlemen - less than legitimate gentlemen, but gentlemen nevertheless. They were illegitimate businessmen. And again, unlike the young brothers you see today, they weren't in it for show. They were dead serious about&nbsp;what they did.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">My father explained it&nbsp;simply&nbsp;- it was all about surviving in&nbsp;a White man's world without having to carry a tin cup.&nbsp;It was about living with dignity. He&nbsp;told me&nbsp;that what he and his friends engaged in was no more criminal than what White business men do every day,&nbsp;within the law. He said,&nbsp;crime is robbery, theft, mayhem, and taking from others what&nbsp;doesn't belong to you. They didn't engage in that kind of activity.&nbsp;What he and his friends did was provide <i>"services"</i> for consenting adults, just like the White man does routinely, and legally, on a daily basis. According to my father, the only difference between what they did, and what the White man does is they don't have politicians in their pockets to sign off on it. So the crime wasn't what they did -&nbsp;their crime was not giving the White man his cut.</span><span style="background-color: white;">﻿</span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 6.66px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D0mP8Uszi7Q/VICqGO8H4HI/AAAAAAAAC9c/ZayosV0XxjI/s1600/CL%2B%26%2BVirgil%2B1966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D0mP8Uszi7Q/VICqGO8H4HI/AAAAAAAAC9c/ZayosV0XxjI/s1600/CL%2B%26%2BVirgil%2B1966.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="320" /></span></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><strong>My Father, Mac McClain, and Brother, Virgil, in 1966.<br /> Mac was a good neighbor and loving father,</strong><br /><strong>but he wasn't one to toy with. He had one mindset</strong><br /><strong>for dealing with his neighbors, and another for dealing with</strong><br /><strong>people on the street.</strong></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">I remember how Ronnie, who was something of a&nbsp;hustler himself, would open up&nbsp;his barbershop just for them every Monday so they could get their domes laid. Monday was Hustler's Day at Ronnie's barbershop. The shop was closed for everybody else. What was funny about that, and&nbsp;the hustlers used to joke about it inside, was how the up-and-coming&nbsp;wannabes would try to get in there on Monday through hook-or-crook, because just managing to get&nbsp;their hair laid at Ronnie's on a Monday could make their reputation on the street. It&nbsp;would also allow them to rub shoulders with the movers and shakers, and&nbsp;maybe gain the attention of one of them, which meant a tremendous boost in&nbsp;both prestige, and&nbsp;pay grade.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">I recall how one Monday even a preacher tried to get in there. After Ronnie politely turned him away, they waited long enough for him to get out of earshot, then everybody fell-out laughing. Wakeen, who used to run "the book," said, in his slow and draggin' voice, "You should have let 'em in, Ron. He got more game than anybody in buildin' - and his game is&nbsp;Betty Crocker&nbsp;approved." Everybody started laughing. Then the ladies started telling stories about the good reverend. That taught me very early in life that no matter where you go, you just cannot escape politics.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">So every Monday around noon, the whole block would be lined with a row of shiny new hogs, and the beauticians who worked for Ronnie (only on Mondays) were the cream of the crop. They were the most fabulous sisters in the hood, and everyone of them smelled like a freshly picked rose after a Spring rain. I can still smell their aroma to this today.&nbsp;They were absolutely, the cream of the crop&nbsp;- they had to be -&nbsp;because they were servicing the royalty of the Black community.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 6.66px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Av4u2ePmR7s/VICxl1eUDGI/AAAAAAAAC9s/3vr5gGMllog/s1600/Iceberg%2BLangford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 13.33px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Av4u2ePmR7s/VICxl1eUDGI/AAAAAAAAC9s/3vr5gGMllog/s1600/Iceberg%2BLangford.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 221, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" /></span></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><strong>Robert Beck (Iceberg Slim) after he moved </strong><br /><strong>to Los Angeles in the 60s.</strong><br /> &nbsp;<strong>He was a little different - he had an East Coast<br /> edge to him . . .&nbsp;a dangerous edge.</strong></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">And these weren't silly&nbsp;wannabes with delusions of grandeur, trying to pattern themselves after someone they'd seen on television. These&nbsp;brothers were the real deal. They were the aristocrats of the darker side of the Black community, those who simply chose not to allow a racist society to hold them hostage. Any one of them could have thrived on Wall Street had they not been blessed with various hues of Black skin.&nbsp;And the community recognized this,&nbsp;so while many "mainstream" Black people&nbsp;weren't crazy about their lifestyle, they understood the rationale behind it. So&nbsp;the community not only accepted them, but they even treated them with a grudging respect and deferment.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">My father was a part of that lifestyle, but you would&nbsp;never have known it by the way I was&nbsp;treated as a child. When I was a young boy and visiting my dad, the neighbors wouldn't hesitate to whip my butt if they caught me doing something I wasn't suppose to do. I was treated just like the other kids in the neighborhood, because they knew they had nothing to fear from my dad. He reserved his wrath for the people&nbsp;who lived the street life.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Ronnie was a friend of the family, so during the Summer, every Monday at 11 a.m. I was headed for his shop. That was my hustle. Between&nbsp;working Ronnie's on Monday, and working the candy concession at Mr. Pierce's liquor store after school,&nbsp;I made a young boy’s fortune. At Ronnie's, just going back and forth to the store and taking messages around the corner to the various people who worked for these impressive brothers could fill my pockets up - all the way up - and all four of them.&nbsp;&nbsp;But I didn’t just love the money, it was a thrill just being acknowledged by these bigger-than-life personalities who made such a&nbsp;huge impression on my life, and I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit it.&nbsp;Sometimes in my writings even today, I'll take on the persona of one of them to make a point, because they had a dry, bottom-line wit about them that cut straight through all&nbsp; manner of bullshit.&nbsp;Listening to them taught me to look beneath a person's words and address the motive behind what they were saying. I also learned to never tap dance around the edges of an issue - get to the point.&nbsp;That's why I call&nbsp;my column "Beneath the Spin."</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">One of the reasons I could see through Cornel West, and I was so relentless against him in my column is due the words of a friend of my father that they used to call "Sweet Willie."&nbsp; When I was about 16 years old he told me, <i>"Never trust a brother&nbsp;who's always trying to be the coolest thing in the room, because he's using so much of his brain power trying to maintain his image that there's nothing left for him to think with. The primary reason he's trying to be so cool in the first place is because he's insecure,&nbsp;which means that inside, even&nbsp;HE knows he ain't shit,&nbsp;and he's trying his best to hide that fact from the rest of the world.&nbsp; It also means he scary, so if you're ever busted with him, he'll turn out to be a turncoat and a snitch every time."</i>&nbsp; And I began to read "Psych-Cybernetics," and later, majored in psychology in college based on the words of another hustler that they used to call "Genie Boy."&nbsp; He told me, <em>"The human mind was one of the most powerful forces in the known universe, so if you don't control it, it WILL control you."</em>&nbsp;Later, as a student of psychology, I found that the words of both men were valid. Carl Jung, a protégé of Sigmund Freud said, everything we do, short of&nbsp;seeking to satisfy our homeostatic (biological) needs, we do&nbsp;in an attempt to reduce our feelings of insecurity.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">So yes, I really admired these people.&nbsp;I loved just hearing them say my name. It made me feel like I was a part of&nbsp;an inner circle, or a world that others couldn't gain access to - and indeed I was. &nbsp;But I&nbsp;especially loved hearing those gorgeous and pretty-smelling women say my name&nbsp;-<em> "Eric, honey, will you run around to the drug store and ask Mr. Reed to send me a large jar of this?"</em>&nbsp;And then they'd&nbsp;hand me an empty jar of something. <em>"Thank you, baby."</em> How I loved that - especially when Harriett did it, and she'd&nbsp;rubbed her hand against my face or shoulder.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Harriett was so beautiful that she didn't even look real. She was the finest and most refined of them all. She looked like someone had painted her. And when she moved she was so sensuous that&nbsp;as she walked,&nbsp;I imagined her thighs must've even made&nbsp;one another&nbsp;other&nbsp;feel good as they rubbed up against&nbsp;each other.&nbsp;That's right!&nbsp; That woman was tough. Yet, she didn't even seem to notice how beautiful she was.&nbsp; That's where the class came in.&nbsp; Every man who knew her yearned for her, but they also knew not to cross the line, because Harriett wasn't the kind of woman that a man could just choose - she had to choose him.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">And Harriett was the one I knew best. We had a special relationship, because we had <a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/2014/01/one-for-jimmy.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jimmy</a> in common. She was Jimmy's&nbsp;girlfriend, and how I envied him that accomplishment.&nbsp;But actually, it wasn't an accomplishment on&nbsp;Jimmy's part. Harriett just sort of dropped into his lap.&nbsp;Jimmy was a guy my father hired to teach me to play the saxophone. He had a serious heroin addition at the time,&nbsp;and&nbsp;he used to drink a lot too. So we'd see him nodded out in alleys and behind the pool hall, or getting sick and throwing up in public. So everybody used to look down on him - everybody, that is, accept Harriett.&nbsp;She went to high school with Jimmy, so you'd often see her waking him up, and scooping him up from behind the pool hall.&nbsp;He probably would have died if it weren't for Harriett, because his wife left him for another man, and&nbsp;she and the other dude would walk right past Jimmy nodded out somewhere&nbsp;without even looking down.&nbsp;So he didn't have anyone who gave a damn&nbsp;about him&nbsp;- except Harriett, the finest thing&nbsp;who ever lived. Go figure it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">So just think about the character of that lady. Harriet was a woman who was so beautiful, sexy, and classy that she could, literally, get any man she wanted, at any station in life&nbsp;- in or out of the hood. Yet, she&nbsp;catered to the needs&nbsp;of a man who had been a dope fiend for years, and had degenerated to the point that he'd become the neighborhood joke. Jimmy wasn't simply at the bottom, the bottom was sitting on him.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">The situation with Jimmy was one of my first big eye-openers in life. Jimmy was a metaphor for the direction that&nbsp;many of our young people are headed for today. But Jimmy turned out to be a guy who had more character, more class, and much more talent&nbsp;than any of us (I tell his story in a link below).&nbsp;But when&nbsp;Jimmy was down and needed us most, we not only stepped over him, but laughed at him as we were doing it - and as young as I was, I was a big&nbsp;part of it.&nbsp;When it came to Jimmy, I was one of the most prolific practical jokers against him.&nbsp; If I found him passed out somewhere, it seemed that I just couldn't get myself to pass by without playing some kind of practical joke on him, like tying his shoes together or something childish like that.&nbsp; To this day I wonder if he knew that.&nbsp; I'll never know, because he had so much class, that even if he did, he would have never let me know it. So as I sit here, I agonize over that decades later, because that miserable dope fiend ended up teaching me about everything I know about the importance of maintaining a sense of humanity, and he nurtured everything that sustains my life today.&nbsp;&nbsp;But Harriett was the only one with the empathy to see the inhumanity in the way we treated Jimmy, and she had the courage of her convictions. She dropped lifelong friends over&nbsp;Jimmy, including Jimmy's wife&nbsp;- and I don't mean temporarily; I mean, permanently!&nbsp; She even got on my ass&nbsp;over&nbsp;him&nbsp;once, but she gave me a pass because I was so young.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">But&nbsp;Harriett had the last laugh, because&nbsp;by the time that's&nbsp;being discussed here,&nbsp;Jimmy&nbsp;had become one&nbsp;of the most impressive and respected personalities in the community. While Jimmy wasn't&nbsp;a hustler, he could walk into Ronnie's any day of the week and command the respect of everybody in the place, and everybody loved seeing him coming -&nbsp;ESPECIALLY, if he had his gig bag slung across his shoulder.&nbsp;Harriett helped to make that happen - and not because she wanted him, but because she was a devoted friend. I think the only reason they ended up together&nbsp;was because Jimmy made such an impressive comeback, and so fast, that it made her fall in love with him, as it did the entire community, including his wayward wife - who USED&nbsp;to be Harriet's best&nbsp;friend,&nbsp;until she&nbsp;deserted&nbsp;Jimmy for another man and left him to die in the street. But when she deserted Jimmy, Harriet immediately dropped&nbsp;her as a friend, and due to Harriet's stature in the community, that meant&nbsp;Wanda also lost a lot of other "friends." She went from the A list to the Z list almost overnight.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">The love between Harriett and Jimmy&nbsp;was one of those rare stories in the hood that had a happy ending.&nbsp;It was clear to everybody&nbsp;who knew them that Jimmy was the man that Harriett had been waiting for.&nbsp;It was also clear that&nbsp;Harriett was the woman&nbsp;who Jimmy needed. They were very happy and devoted to each other, because they&nbsp;DESERVED one another.&nbsp; But that's another story - and a very&nbsp;tender one - but I digress.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">I used to hang on to every word of these ghetto aristocrats. I would listen to their stories, and live a vicarious life through&nbsp;theirs. But what I really loved most was their music. It literally painted a portrait of who they were.&nbsp;They’d fill Ronnie’s juke box up with coins and one monster after another would flow from it’s speakers - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tguu4m38U78" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Miles</a>, Trane, Bird, and they loved <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3X5J_wGHrw" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jimmy Smith</a>.&nbsp; Areatha was the new kid on the block. She hadn’t really established which direction she was going at that time, but everybody assumed that she was going to be a jazz star, because the only thing by her on the juke box was "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHYDafTrpMU" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sky Lark</a>."</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Yeah, those were the days, but what I remember most was how suave and gracefully those&nbsp;enigmatic products of adversity&nbsp;would&nbsp;glide across the floor. With diamonds gleaming from their manicured fingers gently pinching the seam of their trousers, and the light&nbsp;altering the colors of&nbsp;their sharkskin suits, they seemed to be dancing on a cushion of air as they did the "Soft Shoe" to what they&nbsp;seemed to&nbsp;have adopted as&nbsp;their collective&nbsp;theme song - Killer Joe.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span></span> </span></span><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span> </span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u23Etcb-L9M" width="420"></iframe></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">No, we don't see nothing like 'em today, and I don't think we ever will again,&nbsp; because they're the product of a bygone era - an era that I miss tremendously, and one that will continue to live, as long as I do.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span><br /><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">The Eulipians</span></span></b></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"> .</span><span style="background-color: white;">Some of the greatest minds I've ever known <br /> held court while sitting on empty milk crates<br /> in the parking lot of ghetto liquor stores.<br /> At their feet I embraced the love of knowledge,<br /> And through their tutelage defined self-worth<br /> In my own terms.<br /> .</span></span></span></b><br /><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">These were the "Eulipians" — writers, poets, </span></b><br /><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">musicians, hustlers, and uncommon drunks —<br /> those shade-tree philosophers who <br /> contemplate the fungus between the<br /> toes of society; <br /> Who danced with reckless abandon, <br /> unfettered by formal inhibition, <br /> through the presumptuous <br /> speculation of the ages; <br /> Who live in county jails, cardboard boxes, <br /> alley ways, and luxury Apartments.<br /> Insignificant here in Great Bruteland, <br /> but of ultimate significance in the eyes of God.<br /> . <br /> While these obscure intellectuals <br /> stood well outside the mainstream<br /> of academy, I watched <br /> with astonished delight as <br /> they sang, scat, and scribed their various </span></b><br /><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">philosophies into the mainstream of human knowledge.<br /> .<br /> Their philosophy?<br /> knowledge is free, thus, <br /> will transcend attempts <br /> to be contained through barriers <br /> of caste or privilege, <br /> leaving man's innate thirst <br /> for knowledge free to someday<br /> overwhelm his passionate lust for stupidity.</span></b><br /><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">.</span></b><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BsfmwJqss8Q" width="560"></iframe></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;">Eric L. Wattree </span></span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">wattree.blogspot.com </span></span></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</span></span></span><br /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span><b style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></b><i style="font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></i><u style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></u><sub style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></sub><sup style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></sup><strike style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: line-through; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></strike><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br /><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"> Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></span></span></span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times new roman&quot; , serif;"></span><br />http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/01/message-to-diva.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-2873839262892263327Mon, 22 Jan 2018 11:59:00 +00002018-01-23T01:28:04.066-08:00AmericaBlack StupidityChristianityFaithHypocrisyWattreeTHE BRAINWASHING OF BLACK AMERICA<div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</i></span></u></b><br /><span style="color: black;"><b><br />DWIGHT:<br />.<br /><i>"</i></b></span><span style="color: black;"><b><i>Why even address another’s faith? Just tell me why. How do you benefit from that? What are you afraid of? Are you feeling lonely in your non- belief? Are you trying to persuade others to not believe. Do you need validation of your non- belief?”</i></b></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><b><i></i>.</b></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><b>WATTREE:</b></span><br /><span style="color: black;">.</span><br /><span style="color: black;">Dwight, the answer to your question is simple.&nbsp; People like myself speak out against organized religion because religious fanatics are always trying to shove their religious beliefs down everybody else's throats. If they'd simply believe whatever it is that they believe and shut up about it there would be nothing to discuss, but they want to take THEIR beliefs and turn them into laws to try to force EVERYBODY to follow what they've chosen to believe, like the prohibition against abortion and gay marriage, for example</span><span style="color: black;">. If they're against homosexuality (even though God made gays too), they should just refrain from kissing anybody of the same sex and let that be that.&nbsp; But that's not good enough for them, they want to pass laws denying gay people the very same rights that they enjoy, yet, they're perfectly alright with child molestation - as long as it's done in the name of the Lord.&nbsp; In addition, many of their religious traditions have served to denigrate Black people and hold them down over the centuries. So when these Bible thumpers show up and start proselytizing as though everybody else is out of touch with reality, many people don't appreciate it, so they get in their arrogant asses about it, but not nearly enough. That's why I posted what I did. </span><span style="color: black;">Now, does that answer your question, Dwight?</span><br />.<br />God has absolutely nothing to do with religion. Religion is the "word of man," not God. So anyone who chooses to believe in walking dead men and talking snakes over the common sense that was bestowed upon them by nature (God), has chosen to give the word of man priority over God.<br />.<br />God is whatever force, entity, or process that’s responsible for what we refer to as existence, so if we exist, God exists, regardless of whether God is a he, she, or it - period. So the mere fact that we’re here to question God’s existence, proves God’s existence. But let me assure you, he has absolutely nothing to do with the bullshit we're being fed by man. That's why the only people who are prospering in this country are the super-rich, and preachers, and the poor, middle class, and followers are struggling to survive.<br />.<br /><b>GAVIN</b><br />.<br />“In Buddhism the only sin is discouraging one from having faith which instills cultural tolerance. We are not allowed to share our practice with our children because it would not be sincere if they came to Buddhism out of nepotism instead of from self-enlightenment. This promotes the search for the true aspects of reality. Your understanding of God in this post is equivocal to the Buddhist perception, too. I marched in the Gay Parade with the leader of LA Atheist Society and we concurred Buddhism and Atheism are not mutually exclusive of one another save for Atheist believe death is the end of road but life has unlimited possibilities with no religious confinements...Buddhists believe our life force returns to the universe because energy cannot be created nor destroyed... APA cites religion is the cause and effect of misery, depression, substance abuse and serial killings...however, philosophy is the greatest source of true happiness...”<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b>WATTREE:</b><br /><b>.</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Gavin, that makes perfect sense. It sounds like Buddhism is based on common sense, rather than nonsense.&nbsp; I like that, even though I could never become a part of any kind of religious knitting circle - Buddhist, or any other kind. I'm also like that politically. I follow truth, not people. That causes me to avoid all "isms" of any and every kind. That turns a lot of people off because they tend to want to join "teams" - "Our team against their team." But I only recognize one team, the only team with a focus, philosophy, and membership that I can depend on, and that's <i>MY</i> team. So the one and only "ism" that I'm into is Wattree-ism.<br /><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: 18.06px;">THE GOSPEL OF WATTREEISM</span>&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>MY BIBLE IS ONLY ONE PAGE LONG, AND HAS ONLY THREE COMMANDMENTS<br />.</b><br /><b><i>1). LIVE THE BEST LIFE YOU CAN.<br />2). HELP OTHERS WHENEVER YOU CAN.<br />AND<br />3). MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSINESS.</i></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><i>.</i></b></div><i><u><b></b><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></u></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><u></u></i></b> <b><span style="font-size: large;">FREDERICK DOUGLASS ON PREJUDICE IN THE CHURCH</span><br /><i>.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In a 1841 speech, Frederick Douglass said he was in church and witnessed a young Christian White woman go into a trance. When she came out of it she claimed to have visited Heaven.&nbsp; When she was asked were there any Black people there, she hesitated, and then said, “I don’t know.&nbsp; I didn’t go into the kitchen.”</i> <br />.<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />THE CONVERSION</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pVIQ5zpT3so/WmXPH0nBn6I/AAAAAAAAGNk/GrMH_lowOkMtIkR8gOoZWKvCuL4o2rPcQCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_HOW%2BTO%2BMAKE%2BA%2BNEGRO%2BCHRISTIAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="444" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pVIQ5zpT3so/WmXPH0nBn6I/AAAAAAAAGNk/GrMH_lowOkMtIkR8gOoZWKvCuL4o2rPcQCLcBGAs/s320/CHRISTIAN_HOW%2BTO%2BMAKE%2BA%2BNEGRO%2BCHRISTIAN.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>"Come here nigga and let me teach yo crazy, animal ass about the Lord. The first thing you got to learn is to Love thy Neighbor . . . especially me."<br />.<br />"Yes sir, Massa. Why would anybody not love you, Sir? You so good to me, Massa. Anybody don't love you needs to have dey ass beat real good, Massa."<br />.<br />"Shut up, nigga. I'm talkin'."<br />.<br />"Listen, you been blessed already, and you don't even know the Lord. The Lord made it where you don't have to worry 'bout a thing. I feed you, I put clothes on yo nasty ass, and I give you a shed to sleep in, and all you have to do is whatever the hell I tell you to. Do you know how blessed you are?"<br />.<br />"Oh, indeed I do, Massa. You take good care of me. I's so happy."<br />.<br />"Now, listen real good 'cause dis impotant. God said, thou shalt not steal from me, thou shalt not kill (unless I tell you to), thou shalt not stick another coon's wife (unless we tryin' to make some mo niggas), and nigga, whatever you do, thou shalt not even look like you want to stick a white woman, or we gon lynch yo black ass. You here me, nigga?"<br />.<br />"Oh yes, Massa. We know dat! But Massa, I thought you said thou shalt not kill?"<br />.<br />"Dat means people, fool - real people!&nbsp; Dat don't go for niggas. God wants us to keep you in yo place."<br />.<br />"Dat's right, Massa. We sho gotta keep niggas in dey place. No tellin' what a happen if we let dese niggas git loose. God so smart."<br />.<br />"I said shut up, nigga, and listen to the word."<br />.<br />"The next thing you got to learn is, whatever happens on this plantation is God's will bein' done. And if you listen to me, you'll get to live like I do when you die and go to Heaven."<br />.<br />"Live like you, massa? A nigga ain't got no business livin' dat good. What a Po nigga like me gon do with all this? You know I ain't got sense enough to run nothin' like this."<br />.<br />"Just shut up, nigga!" When you dead you gon get some sense - the lord gon give it to you. The Lord can do anything, even give sense to a nigga. And he gon give you all the other niggas you gon need to help you in the fields, too."<br />.<br />"Massa, you so good to me! Thank you for tellin' me all dis. I'm gon be a good nigga - the best nigga you ever seened. Look, I'm gon pray for you right now, and thank the Lord for givin' me so good a massa."<br />.<br />"Shut up and get up off your knees, ya dumb nigga! The fields need tendin'! You pray to the Lord on your own time. God don't won't you talkin' to him when you s'pose to be workin'."<br />.<br />"A couse, Massa. What I been thinkin'? I's so dumb. I don't know why you put up with me, Sir."<br />.<br />"How many times I got to tell you to shut the hell up, nigga?"<br />.<br />"Yes Sir, I's a shuttin', Massa. I's a shuttin', right now."<br />.<br />"Now get yo ass out there in that field and let's get some work done around here . . . Oh, and Toby, have yo woman meet me in the barn. I need to tell her 'bout the Lord too."<br />.<br />"Yes sir, Massa."<br />.<br />"And another thing, Toby, if my momma come a lookin', tell her I'm playin' in my tree house."<br />.<br />"Why you gon go fibbin' to yo momma, Mr. Tommy? She knows you like to sit wit Lou Ann."<br />.<br />"Just shut up, nigga, and do what I said! And tell Lou Ann to wear that pretty dress I like, cause we gon be talkin' 'bout the Lord, so it's gon be like chuch."<br />.<br />"Yes Sir, Mr. Tommy." . . . "Whaaaaaaat a friend we have in Jeeeeesus . . ."<br /><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">PORTRAIT OF A BLACK IDIOT OF GOD</span></b></div>.<br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9CUNUVhzFAQ" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">WHITE SUPREMACY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span> <br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0exXGfzivJ8" width="420"></iframe><strong>.</strong></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span> <br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 18.06px;">"ONE NATION </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: 18.06px;">UNDER GOD,</span></strong></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span> <br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 18.06px;">WITH LIBERTY, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: 18.06px;">AND JUSTICE,</span></strong></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span> <br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 18.06px;">FOR ALL."</span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eW1of6sXOoA/WmXQI6r1uBI/AAAAAAAAGNs/B0ojBLhj-WEIXSj-v5pusUAJnoEGbW-YwCLcBGAs/s1600/Lynching_Church%2BPicnic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="201" height="254" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eW1of6sXOoA/WmXQI6r1uBI/AAAAAAAAGNs/B0ojBLhj-WEIXSj-v5pusUAJnoEGbW-YwCLcBGAs/s320/Lynching_Church%2BPicnic.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hmmmmm, No Shit!!!?</b></span><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">FAITH</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">(F) Following (A) Absolute (I)Ignorance (T) To (H) Hell</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><span style="font-size: large;"></span><b></b><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Eric L. Wattree</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><u style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Http://wattree.blogspot.com</strong></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><strong></strong></span><strong style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;"></strong></a><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><u style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Ewattree@gmail.com</strong></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><strong></strong></span><strong style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;"></strong></a><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> .</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia,Serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00264c; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></span></div><b><br /></b> <b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-size: large;"></span><b></b></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-brainwashing-of-black-america.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-1734216157245741389Sat, 06 Jan 2018 15:45:00 +00002018-01-09T05:22:24.248-08:00Angry Black ManAri Noonanarrogant presumptionStand Your Ground.WattreeWhite SupremacyA MESSAGE TO BLACK PEOPLE - STAND YOUR GROUND<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>A MESSAGE TO BLACK PEOPLE - STAND YOUR GROUND</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iY211ez2ql4/WlDuc_GES5I/AAAAAAAAGLk/6Y25mIAslqoC5TTYbBCq2PYFKV3oK3PvACEwYBhgL/s1600/Arrogance-is-founded-in-weakness-and-feeds-on-insecurity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iY211ez2ql4/WlDuc_GES5I/AAAAAAAAGLk/6Y25mIAslqoC5TTYbBCq2PYFKV3oK3PvACEwYBhgL/s1600/Arrogance-is-founded-in-weakness-and-feeds-on-insecurity.jpg" /></a></div><b>JOURNALIST </b><b>ARI NOONAN:</b><br />.<br />Like many lefties Eric, you are angry before you awaken. You rage throughout a day because a person disagrees with you? Why not be the rare leftist who will debate one with whom he disagrees? Why do I believe you are not happy? Because I never have read anything happy or uplifting from you...going back perhaps 15 years.&nbsp; Further, as any grammar school students knows, white is not capitalized and neither is black. you see Eric, an angry non-thinker is merely an angry non-thinker regardless of his meaningless race.<br />.<br /><b>WATTREE:</b><br />.<br />Ari, I told you previously, you're incapable of understanding how I think, because you're a petty and unoriginal thinker. If I capitalized the word "while" it was a mere typo, and as for the words "Black" and "White," I always capitalize those words as a personal preference, just like many Jews spell God "G-D". Do you have a problem with that? I don't think so, because I've seen you do it many times. So why try to nitpick me for my choice to capitalize the words "Black" and "White" while at the same time feeling perfectly free to misspell the word "God"? That speaks volumes regarding your arrogant sense of entitlement, so I have absolutely no intention of allowing either you, or White convention, to dictate what I decide is best for me. So I spell the word "Black" the way<b> <i>I </i></b>decide is the correct way to spell it, not you. Do you spell “Jew” with a small “j”? I don’t think so.&nbsp; Thus, from my perspective, “Black” deserves a Capital “B” as well, because it speaks of a people of great significance.<br />.<br />And don't think for a minute that it's been lost on me exactly WHY you've descended to criticizing spelling and typos. You've obviously long since recognized that you can't possibly compete with me intellectually, so you've sank to the weak-minded tactic of obfuscation. Your behavior is completely consistent with that of a typical defeated intellect, which goes from presumptuous ridicule, to defensive hostility, to desperate name calling, and that's exactly what your behavior and/or remarks reflect here.<br />.<br />So let me assure you, Ari, in spite of the fact that you consider me “an angry Black man,” I've already considered every thought you think, because&nbsp; I've prepared all of my life to defeat the arrogance of racist presumption. Due to your mindset you consider any Black man angry who doesn’t look down at his feet when he’s talking to you, but not here, Ari. I believe in confronting the presumption of superiority and setting the record straight. If you presume to be superior, you’re gonna have to prove that to me, because I’m not gonna take your word for it, nor am I gonna afford you the comfort of indulging your delusion. <br />.<br />Most Black people are fully aware that people like yourself are living in a delusion, but like when dealing with children, they just give you a pass. They take the position of, “What the hell - let the White boy think what he likes.”&nbsp; But not me. I’m not gonna give you that satisfaction.&nbsp;&nbsp; It is my philosophy that when you feel like you want to kill an arrogant White boy due to his stupidity, you don't shoot him, or stab him, that's far too compassionate.&nbsp; A much better way of inflicting pain upon him is to clearly demonstrate that you're his intellectual superior. That way he dies a thousand deaths, and I don't have to go to jail for indulging my favorite pastime. <br />.<br />That's why <i>formerly presumptuous</i> bigots hate Barack Obama so desperately, because every time they hear his name, or see his face, they're confronted with the fact that they're intellectually inferior to a "coon."&nbsp; That causes them to die every time they think about him. So in response to your claim that I'm angry, I'd like to assure you that I'm not angry in the least. On the contrary, I'm having the time of my life, because I'm a Black man who gets to slaughter a racist bigot every single day of my life. That's the ultimate reward, so why should I be angry?&nbsp; One the other hand, you're indulging in projection. Ari.&nbsp; Thus, it is <i>YOU</i> who is angry, not me, because I don’t have a delusion to defend.&nbsp; <br />.<br />People like yourself are so predictable that as a direct result of the effort I’ve put into my own self-development I get to wake up every morning knowing that at some point during the day I’m gonna to be afforded the opportunity to destroy some bigot’s delusion of grandeur.&nbsp; So why should I be angry?&nbsp; I’m in Heaven.&nbsp; It’s all chitlins and gravy for me. <br />.<br />So please don’t concern yourself with my happiness, because I’m doing just fine. Your time and effort would be put to far better use if you devoted yourself to resolving your delusions grandeur, and contemplating your false sense of entitlement. <br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>And by the way, Ari, you asked why are 'lefties' afraid of an honest debate?&nbsp; The answer to your question is very simple - THERE IS NO DEBATE.<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--OmoTfXeL4s/WlTBNZqiwxI/AAAAAAAAGMs/VNkuz7P2NFUgRUHzcwcHrZ5dvNB5F40NACEwYBhgL/s1600/Attention%2BRepublicans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="276" height="212" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--OmoTfXeL4s/WlTBNZqiwxI/AAAAAAAAGMs/VNkuz7P2NFUgRUHzcwcHrZ5dvNB5F40NACEwYBhgL/s320/Attention%2BRepublicans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Now you have a wonderful day, Ari . . .&nbsp; if you can.<br />.<br />Eric L. Wattree<br /><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/"><u><span style="color: blue;">http://wattree.blogspot.com/</span></u></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><u><span style="color: blue;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</span></u></a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102"><u><span style="color: blue;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a> <br />. <br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-message-to-black-people-stand-your.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-5021817519174766222Wed, 03 Jan 2018 20:53:00 +00002018-01-03T13:15:49.683-08:00Donald TrumpDonald Trump JuniorRobert Mueller. Stephen BannonRussian investigationsteve BannonTrump Tower MeetingWattreeWE PREDICTED THE GOP WAS GOING TO SACRIFICE TRUMP AND NOW IT BEGINS<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>WE</b><b> PREDICTED ONE WEEK AGO TODAY THAT THE GOP WAS GOING TO SACRIFICE DONALD TRUMP, AND NOW IT BEGINS</b><br />.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/12/prediction-donald-trumps-going-to-be.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">PREDICTION: DONALD TRUMP’S GOING TO BE SACRIFICED BY THE GOP</span></a></b> <br />.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t4m_1T85vAQ/Wk07R75cGAI/AAAAAAAAGKY/AVW8uKx6ySMCKHjNdVbZ9DvM_8lvyRyOACLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP_PISS%2BON%2BTRUMP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t4m_1T85vAQ/Wk07R75cGAI/AAAAAAAAGKY/AVW8uKx6ySMCKHjNdVbZ9DvM_8lvyRyOACLcBGAs/s320/TRUMP_PISS%2BON%2BTRUMP.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">We pointed out in the article that "If you hate Donald Trump, now’s the time to go out and get some popcorn, because he’s about to be sacrificed by the GOP. The GOP is a ruthless bunch, and now America’s going to get a ringside seat to see just how ruthless they can be with one of their own.<br />.<br />"The minute Trump signs the Republican tax cut he’ll become a liability to the GOP. He will have served his purpose, and thereafter he’ll instantly become an albatross around the GOP’s neck heading into the 2018 and 2020 elections. He’s reckless and unpredictable, he has absolutely no idea how to even pretend to be president, he’s nearly universally hated (even by Republicans), and he’s the most unpopular president in the entire history of the United States, hands down. So the Republican Party can’t afford to have him around going into the coming two elections because he’s dragging the entire party down. While his agenda is in perfect sync with their own - to cut America’s throat and drag the poor and middle-class way of life back to the days of Jim Crow and the Great Depression - he doesn’t have sense enough to keep that agenda a secret, which is an absolute must in order for the Republican Party to remain viable. He gets out and brags about it in order to appease his bigoted base.<br />.<br />"So when we hear that the Republicans are turning up the heat on Mueller in order to bring the Russia investigation to an end, that’s a farce. What they’re actually doing is stirring up enough criticism toward Mueller to give Trump a false sense of security and to make him think that he has the backup to let Trump be Trump. That will embolden him to do something stupid, like when he fired FBI Director Comey. Once he does that, or something similar, the GOP will claim that they don't “have any choice” but to "cave-in" to the resulting cries for impeachment. After all, why would Trump even consider firing Mueller or pardoning Flynn and others if he wasn’t guilty of wrongdoing? The GOP knows that, and the American people will also know it, so the GOP's hands would be tied, like in the case of Richard Nixon."</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/03/politics/bannon-wolff-fire-and-fury/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">BANNON: THE 2016 TRUMP TOWER MEETING WAS 'TREASONOUS'</span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; .</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OTjxpAiuMB4/Wk06quojBhI/AAAAAAAAGKU/9YqL7oAmWEEpdRehA-5tNzTExROVB2f-wCLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP%252CBANNON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="460" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OTjxpAiuMB4/Wk06quojBhI/AAAAAAAAGKU/9YqL7oAmWEEpdRehA-5tNzTExROVB2f-wCLcBGAs/s320/TRUMP%252CBANNON.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>DONALD TRUMP ANMD STEVE BANNON</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Now, in a report by CNN, "Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer purportedly offering damaging information about Hillary Clinton "treasonous," according to a new book <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/03/donald-trump-russia-steve-bannon-michael-wolff?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other" target="_blank">obtained by The Guardian</a>."&nbsp; The report goes on to say that Bannon told Michael Wolff, author of the book, <i>Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump white House</i>, "They're going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV."&nbsp; Trump fired back at his former aide saying,&nbsp;"When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind."&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">What makes this feud between Trump and Bannon of particular interest is Steve Bannon is the manager and executive chairman of Breitbart News, the far-right conservative publication which caters to Trump's conservative base, not to mention that as a former insider of the trump administration he presumably knows where any bodies might be buried. So as I suggested in my previous article, it's time to breakout the popcorn, because this is developing into a very dramatic moment in the Donald Trump saga. <br />.<br /><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1bEdMuKq30I" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vnB8Md493yw/Wk1CumT4IlI/AAAAAAAAGKc/rmhVIUI-MX8Il7PsB6X-w-d74gwviDxZgCLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP%2BTIES%2BTO%2BRUSSIA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vnB8Md493yw/Wk1CumT4IlI/AAAAAAAAGKc/rmhVIUI-MX8Il7PsB6X-w-d74gwviDxZgCLcBGAs/s400/TRUMP%2BTIES%2BTO%2BRUSSIA.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />.<br />Eric L. Wattree<br /><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/"><u><span style="color: blue;">http://wattree.blogspot.com/</span></u></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><u><span style="color: blue;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</span></u></a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102"><u><span style="color: blue;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a> <br />. <br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2018/01/i-predicted-gop-was-going-to-sacrifice.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-3410527980601554116Mon, 25 Dec 2017 09:31:00 +00002018-01-23T09:18:59.557-08:00AfghanistanBarihaIranIraqIsraelJewsMiddle-EastMilitaryNetanyahuPalestinePinksterPresident TrumanThe Manifest DestinyTrumpZionismWHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZIONISM AND RACISM - NOTHING <span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><u><b>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</b></u></i></span><br /><div align="center"><b></b></div><div align="center"><b>WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZIONISM AND RACISM - NOTHING</b></div><div align="center"><b>THAT'S WHY TRUMP AND NETANYAHU GET ALONG SO WELL</b></div><div align="center"><b>.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BdZv14LI_f0/WkC50aXLvmI/AAAAAAAAGJY/UaWrVTS1BoM6XIQT3oxS0ano_oKJWu6RACEwYBhgL/s1600/WAR_DEAD%2BBABIES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="350" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BdZv14LI_f0/WkC50aXLvmI/AAAAAAAAGJY/UaWrVTS1BoM6XIQT3oxS0ano_oKJWu6RACEwYBhgL/s320/WAR_DEAD%2BBABIES.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I’m about to do something that I generally make it a point to avoid – discuss the collective nature of White folks. The reason I make it a point to avoid this subject is because I don’t want to add to the disinformation disseminated by many Black racists (oh yes, racists come in Black too) that there is something more intrinsically evil in White people than there is in any other racial group. The tendency to be brutal and unjust is not race-based, it's all about greed and opportunity.&nbsp; Clear evidence of that can be seen on the continent of Africa where Black people are committing some of the most brutal atrocities anywhere in the world against one another, and you also see it among other groups of people based on religion, greed, and politics.<br /><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The fact is, as humans, just as intellect is distributed equally across our species, so is malevolence. We all have a tendency to be self-serving and corrupt given half a chance. The only difference between White people and any other group is that they have the power (for now, at least), thus the opportunity to reflect that side of their nature – and again, for anyone who wants to challenge my assertion in that regard, I invite you to witness the Black-on-Black mayhem that’s currently taking place on the continent of Africa, or take the police out of the Black, or White, communities of America and watch the level of enlightenment that prevails – it would be the survival of the fittest within a week.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">So it seems that the common trait shared by all those who tend to be inhumane and corrupt is neither race, creed, nor color. What they all have in common is power, opportunity, and greed. And let there be no doubt, that’s the source of most of the turmoil in the Middle-East – the power, opportunity, and greed of Israel and the American military/industrial complex. But whenever anyone seeks to examine this issue they’re immediately met with hysterical charges of being either unpatriotic, anti-Semitic, or both. So while everyone is aware of the problem, we tend to turn a blind eye to it.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">This is an issue that desperately needs to be addressed, because due to our failure to do so, American troops are dying, the United States Treasury is being looted, and the entire world is being placed at risk. So enough with all of the name-calling and accusations. Israel’s behavior needs to be scrutinized just like any other country in the world.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Pure, objective, and unadulterated truth is not nearly as complicated or elusive as we try to make it seem in this country. But since truth doesn’t lend itself to being Black, White, Jew, or Gentile, when the truth comes up less than a perfect fit to our carefully constructed comfort zone, we tend to beat, distort, and convolute it into a more comfortable fit. In the process, however, we do ourselves a gross injustice, because no matter how you distort it, truth will always prevail in the end. That is the source of most of our problems in this world. We all seek to distort the truth in a way that is most palatable to our special interest – and this problem is magnified by the fact that our writers, political pundits, and politicians have a natural tendency to seek applause and self-interest over truth. So if we’re indeed dependent on the truth to set us free, let us not doom ourselves to a life of death, carnage, and intellectual bondage by living a lie.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7CHfgkT7PVs/Tfzu9ELadFI/AAAAAAAAAnA/NmardT0mRpA/s1600/Antisemitism+and+the+manifest-destiny1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">And the truth is, our poor and middle-class young people are being wooed by slick government commercials to become cannon fodder in a war for profit. But young people, take it from an old Marine, it’s all a lie. They’re only showing you the benefits and upside of military life. They show you standing there proud and strong in your spotless uniform at home with all the girls looking at you with admiring eyes. They’re not showing you the real picture, with you lying in 110-degree heat in agony thousands of miles from home bleeding to death from the stub that used to be your leg, or looking at your foot in a bloody boot twenty-five yards away from where the rest of you lie dying. They’re being criminally remiss in not showing you that side of military life.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, don’t get the impression that I’m a pacifist, or hate the military, however – I’m not. There IS a time when war is justified, but this ain’t it. You know it’s time to go to war when you’re prepared to see your own loved ones become its first casualty, but it’s abundantly clear that no one in our government has reached that point as yet. If they had, they’d be encouraging their kids to enlist.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Where is Liz Cheney, the Bush girls, or the Trumps? They can drive a truck. But no, not on your life – their idea of patriotism is cheering on the dying “little people” from the lobby of Mar-a-lago and exclusive tennis clubs, and demanding that everybody stand for a flag that none of them are willing to shed a drop of blood for - at this point, four generations of Trumps have avoided military service like the plague.&nbsp; So be all that you can be, but don’t be a fool. You won’t be fighting for your country, you’ll be fighting for Exxon and Halliburton’s collusion with Israel to rob the people of the Middle East and gouge the American taxpayer.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The truth is, the dispute over Israel is nothing less than “The Manifest Destiny” being reenacted. When the Europeans came to America and began to strip the indigenous people of their land, they justified their unholy atrocities by declaring that it was <i>"God’s will"</i> that they settle and bring his word to this “uncivilized land”– it was their manifest destiny. So in true civilized, Christian fashion, they began to spread the Holy word of God through the hot muzzle of a Gatlin gun. It was a brutally unconscionable and gruesome event, but what could these good Christians do? After all, it was God’s will that they slaughter those “Godless savages.” That is the exact same scenario that's currently being played out in the Middle East today. It began with the “creation” of the state of Israel in 1948, and the campaign continues as I speak – but this time, it’s called Zionism, and just like with the Manifest Destiny, they've gone over there and stole the land of others, and then justified it by saying God gave it to them. &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1882, while Jews were being massacred throughout Russia, Leo Pinsker, the founder of the Zionist movement, published a small booklet entitled “Auto-emancipation”. It pointed out that Jews would never find equality in Russia, so it was necessary for world Jewry to establish their own homeland. At first he didn’t care where it was located – in fact, the area encompassing Zaire, Africa was even considered. But later, Pinsker recognized that in order to get Jews to immigrate in numbers large enough to establish a homeland, he needed a location that would inspire the Jewish soul, and no location in the world would suit that purpose like Palestine, the land of Zion – “the land that God had promised the Jews.” The fact that there were indigenous people already living in Palestine never even crossed his mind.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The American Heritage Dictionary defines Zionism as follows: “Zionism: An organized movement of world Jewry that arose in Europe in the late 19th century with the aim of reconstituting a Jewish state in Palestine. Modern Zionism is concerned with the development and support of the state of Israel.”</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Thus, Zionism, by definition and design, is a doctrine dedicated to the taking of Palestine – and on May 14, 1948, European Jews did just that. Between 1944 and 1948, due to their experience with the Nazi’s, Eastern European Jews wanted to get off the European continent by any means necessary, so various Zionist organizations created the Bariha (escape) Organization that helped close to 200,000 Jews to leave Europe and settle in Palestine. Prior to that time, in July of 1922, the League of Nations (the progenitor of the United Nations) gave Great Britain a mandate to protect the people of Palestine, but on November 29, 1947 when the U. N. General Assembly passed a resolution to partition off Palestine between the Arabs and Jews, Great Britain announced that it was terminating its mandate. The end of the British mandate was to go into effect on May 15, 1948, but on May 14, 1948 the Zionists declared the creation of Israel, a Jewish state.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">But in order for the new State of Israel to have any legitimacy, it had to be recognized by the United States. The U.S. State Department was less than enthusiastic about creating a Jewish state in Palestine, but shortly after President Truman took office, European Zionist, Chaim Weizmann, convinced the president that it was only just that the survivors of the holocaust would be given their own homeland. Truman agreed, and recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, and all hell’s been breaking loose ever since.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Israeli-American alliance was a match made in Hell from the very outset – they didn’t even trust each other. One of the largest units in the CIA is dedicated to the prevention of Israeli spying on the United States, and one of the biggest spy scandals in U.S. history involved an Israeli spy name Jonathan Pollard, an American of Jewish descent, born in Galveston, Texas. But in spite of that, Israel receives more U.S. foreign aid than any other country in the world, and we’ve made them one of the most formidable military forces in the world. The reason for that?–oil.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Israel stands as an extension of the United States in the Middle East, within easy striking distance of Middle Eastern oil fields. So what we have in the Middle East is an unholy quid pro quo -The United States will help the Israelis steal Arab land, and the Israelis will help the United States steal the oil beneath the land.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">So the Israeli claim that their slaughter of the Arab people is simply an attempt to defend themselves is nothing but a farce. Granted, when someone invades your home you do have a right to retaliate against them, but Europeans have about as much right to call Israel their home as I’d have of tearing off a part of China simply because I converted to Buddhism.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Far be it from me, however, to say who’s a Jew and who’s not, but I think we can all agree that European Jews are not the same Jews that were spoken of in the Bible. But, of course, you're not supposed to even whisper such sentiments here in America. To say that European Jews don’t belong in Israel, or to speak out on any atrocity that the State of Israel might commit, is considered anti- Semitic in this country. But even that’s a farce. There’s a big difference between being anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist. To be anti-Semitic is to be against a people, while being anti-Zionist is to be against a philosophy. After all, all Jews are not Zionist. But there’s another issue here as well. How can you be anti-Semitic towards Europeans? They aren’t even Semites.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The situation above describes exactly why we’re in Iraq and Afghanistan today. Thus, all of the killing in the Middle East is about European hubris, injustice, and greed. The entire justification for Europeans being in the Middle East at all, is based on a lie – and that includes Europeans by way of the United States.</div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">How can you go into your neighbor’s home and kill his family, then call him the aggressor? And now they’re talking about invading Iran! It’s all about racism and greed. Think about it– as bad as the Germans and Russians treated the Jews over the years, you’d think the Jews would have been given part of one of those countries. If they’d done that, European Jews wouldn’t have even had to leave home. But White folks don’t play that – no matter how much they hate each other, or what kind of atrocities they've committed.&nbsp; "Oh, hell no. Not our land!&nbsp; Go over there and take some land from those heathens." But what's so ironic about it is, they're using their abuse during the holocaust to justify doing exactly the same thing to the Palestinians. But they seem to think that's different, and not nearly as horrific, because the Palestinians aren't White.<br />.<br /><h3 class="r" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-transform: none; white-space: nowrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-refugees-africa-order-leave-country-prison-threat-a8138961.html" style="color: #1a0dab; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Israel orders African refugees to leave country within three months or prison</a></h3><div class="s" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #545454; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; max-width: 640px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="color: #545454; line-height: 18px; max-width: none;"><div class="f kv _SWb" style="color: grey; display: block; height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><div style="text-align: left;"><cite class="_Rm bc" style="color: #006621; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal;">www.independent.co.uk › News › World › Middle East</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="-ms-user-select: none; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; margin-top: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 33); 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list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></li></ol></div></div></div></div></div><div style="line-height: 18px; max-width: none; text-align: left;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 18.66px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="f" style="color: grey;">Jan 2, 2018 - </span>The <em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">Israeli</em> government has ordered thousands of <em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">African</em> refugees and <em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">migrants</em> to leave the <em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">country</em> within three months or face prison.<wbr style="line-height: 18.66px; word-wrap: break-word;"></wbr> ... <em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">Israel</em> calls them "infiltrators" and says they are mostly economic <em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">migrants</em> whose numbers threaten its Jewish character.<wbr style="line-height: 18.66px; word-wrap: break-word;"></wbr> ... <em style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 700;">Israel’s</em> Prime Minister ...<br />.</span></span></span><span class="st" style="line-height: 18.66px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 18px; max-width: none; text-align: center;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 18.66px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>COMMENTS</b></span></span></span></div><span class="st" style="line-height: 18.66px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #b00000; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div></span><span class="st" style="line-height: 18.66px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;">JONATHAN SHUTMAN:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;">You and I are much in common. Different perspective here. If want to talk sometime, let's arrange a time. Was listening to McCoy's Peresina in car, WBGO Newark. Brought back memories, concert at UC Berkley, 1972. Common ground in the music, Israel is minimally complex as is/was Zionism<br />.<br />ERIC WATTREE:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;">Jonathan, this issue is not debatable. Zionism is bigotry - period. There's no justification for it, and there's nothing the least bit complex about it. Donald Trump wants a White homeland too.<br />.<br />JONATHAN SHUTMAN:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;">Will send an email. Historical rape and plunder? 1948, 1938, 1860, 1066? Jews have always been the scapegoats. Still reading your comments. Looking for Ottoman Empire, Crusades, Spanish Inquisition. We agree on much, but culpability and man's inhumanity to man is far reaching, as is pockets of decency and better within Israel.<br />.<br />ERIC WATTREE:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;">Jonathan, all of that what you're talking about doesn't justify bigotry. The world is sick to death of giving Israel a pass based on this bullshit whining. One hundred million Native Americans were slaughtered right here in RECENT history. So the only people that's listening to that nonsense you're spewing are other Zionists. Everybody else is sick to death of listening to it - including many Jews.<br />.<br />JONATHAN SHUTMAN:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;">Will write. Too much to address with few words.<br />.<br />ERIC WATTREE:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;">Jonathan, save your breath. You'll never be able to convince me that Jews have been treated so badly over the centuries that they should be allowed to take other people's land and get away with murder and bigotry. That's complete and utter bullshit, and my mind is not wired to tolerate bullshit. The rules of conduct should be the same for EVERYBODY, regardless to WHAT they've gone through in their history. They should just get over it, just like every other group in the world. God doesn't have any "chosen people."</span></b></div></span><div style="line-height: 18px; max-width: none; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Eric L. Wattree<br /><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/"><u><span style="color: blue;">http://wattree.blogspot.com/</span></u></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><u><span style="color: blue;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</span></u></a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102"><u><span style="color: blue;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a> <br />. <br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/12/whats-difference-between-zionism-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-3746841662552263683Thu, 21 Dec 2017 06:51:00 +00002017-12-26T12:37:35.918-08:00Donald TrumpGOPimpeachmentMelania TrumpRepublican Tax BillWattreePREDICTION: DONALD TRUMP’S GOING TO BE SACRIFICED BY THE GOP<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>PREDICTION: DONALD TRUMP’S GOING TO BE SACRIFICED BY THE GOP</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YF6WUD7vztA/WjtNpdVe8AI/AAAAAAAAGIc/-S0GThCHl7gbysFVG9Di4tIIdqvu-KoqwCLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP_PISS%2BON%2BTRUMP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YF6WUD7vztA/WjtNpdVe8AI/AAAAAAAAGIc/-S0GThCHl7gbysFVG9Di4tIIdqvu-KoqwCLcBGAs/s320/TRUMP_PISS%2BON%2BTRUMP.jpg" width="243" /></a>If you hate Donald Trump, now’s the time to go out and get some popcorn, because he’s about to be sacrificed by the GOP.&nbsp; The GOP is a ruthless bunch, and now America’s going to get a ringside seat to see just how ruthless they can be with one of their own.</div>.<br />The minute Trump signs the Republican tax cut he’ll become a liability to the GOP.&nbsp; He will have served his purpose, and thereafter he’ll instantly become an albatross around the GOP’s neck heading into the 2018 and 2020 elections.&nbsp; He’s reckless and unpredictable, he has absolutely no idea how to even pretend to be president, he’s nearly universally hated (even by Republicans), and he’s the most unpopular president in the entire history of the United States, hands down. So the Republican Party can’t afford to have him around going into the coming two elections because he’s dragging the entire party down.&nbsp; While his agenda is in perfect sync with their own - to cut America’s throat and drag the poor and middle-class way of life back to the days of Jim Crow and the Great Depression - he doesn’t have sense enough to keep that agenda a secret, which is an absolute must in order for the Republican Party to remain viable. He gets out and brags about it in order to appease his bigoted base.<br />.<br />So when we hear that the Republicans are turning up the heat on Mueller in order to bring the Russia investigation to an end, that’s a farce.&nbsp; What they’re actually doing is stirring up enough criticism toward Mueller to give Trump a false sense of security and to make him think that he has the backup to let Trump be Trump. That will embolden him to do something stupid, like when he fired FBI Director Comey.&nbsp; Once he does that, or something similar, the GOP will claim that they don't&nbsp; “have any choice” but to "cave-in" to the resulting cries for impeachment.&nbsp; After all, why would Trump even consider firing Mueller or pardoning Flynn and others if he wasn’t guilty of wrongdoing?&nbsp; The GOP knows that, and the American people will also know it, so the GOP's hands would be tied, like in the case of Richard Nixon.<br />.<br />Mueller is undoubtedly already in possession of enough evidence to impeach Trump with just what we know publically - obstruction of justice, violation of the Emoluments Clause, and violation of the Logan Act by negotiating with Russia prior to entering office, and that’s without even addressing their attempts to establish “back-channel” communications with the Russian government.&nbsp; But Mueller is being thorough in his investigation and the clock is ticking, so the GOP wants to hurry up and bring this process to a head before the elections, because the oligarchs who run and finance the GOP know that if they lose the coming elections the Democrats are going to walk right in and repeal everything the GOP worked so hard for, and they should triple the corporate tax to 60% to make up for the tax fraud that took place under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush - and according to the polls, the Democrats will do it with the complete blessing of the American people. <br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NIkdSAF70vk/WjtRfwUm17I/AAAAAAAAGIo/GD65VThp0OEbEJNi1lY42vuQ7fOqBLBswCLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP%2BAND%2BMELANIA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1160" height="173" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NIkdSAF70vk/WjtRfwUm17I/AAAAAAAAGIo/GD65VThp0OEbEJNi1lY42vuQ7fOqBLBswCLcBGAs/s320/TRUMP%2BAND%2BMELANIA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So Trump, and his family, are in serious trouble and he’s too dumb to realize it. And another thing he doesn’t realize is that he’s in this fight alone. He doesn’t have any allies, with the possible exception of a handful of Hillbilly supporters who can barely read - and according to the polls, he's even hemorrhaging their support. So, again, Trump is in serious trouble, because as we've just seen with this Republican tax mugging, the GOP is the most ruthless group in this nation, and they hate Trump just as much as the rest of America. <br />.<br />I mean, let’s face it, Trump is so self-absorbed and narcissistic that it's next to impossible to feel any kind of loyalty toward him, or even to like him, because he has absolutely no loyalty toward anyone else. It's all about Donald.&nbsp; Look at any picture of him and his wife together. She looks like she’s so disgusted by him that she can barely hold down her lunch, or even pretend to like him. Her eyes seem to say, "Will you just look at this idiot!" So if his wife feels that way about him, one can only imagine how disgusted the Republican Party is with this strutting, bloviating, credit-hoarding egomaniac. The GOP establishment didn't want him as the nominee in the first place, but the alt-right Hillbillies shoved him down their throats. So now they have the chance to correct that problem.<br />.<br />And for those of you who think Mike Pence is just as bad, but in a creepy, theocratic way, he may be in hot water as well, because Paul Manafort, who is currently under indictment, brought Pence into the administration at the last minute. Chris Christie of New Jersey was set to become Trump's vice president, but for Paul Manafort. Thus, Pence has a direct connection to one of the biggest alleged criminals in the entire Russian investigation, and it's all but certain that Mike Flynn is singing like Pavarotti about Pence to save himself and his son.<br />.<br />So again, I'm convinced that once Trump signs the Republican tax bill, the GOP is going to set him up for impeachment. It's all but a certainty. In fact, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they've started leaking to Mueller already, like many in his White House have been leaking to the press since day one. Mueller didn't get those tens of thousands of emails by accident. So mark my word, Trump has served his purpose and has now become an ugly and hated liability, so he’s about to be sacrificed by the GOP. It will only take six Republican votes to impeach him, and he's bullied and lambasted more Republican senators than that - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can't stand Trump - and&nbsp; likewise, many in the GOP can't wait to see Trump swaying in the wind, because nobody likes a self-serving bully who thinks everyone else is beneath him - including his own wife.<br />.<br />Remember where you heard it first.<br />.<br />Eric L. Wattree<br /><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/"><u><span style="color: blue;">http://wattree.blogspot.com/</span></u></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><u><span style="color: blue;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</span></u></a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102"><u><span style="color: blue;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a> <br />. <br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/12/prediction-donald-trumps-going-to-be.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-7095534937560564429Sat, 16 Dec 2017 13:35:00 +00002018-01-01T13:36:12.957-08:00Abraham LincolnAnti-IntellectualismBarack ObamaBill and Hillary ClintonBlack WomenDonaldDr. W. Gabriel SelassieEducationGeorge W. BushMichelle ObamaPRESIDENTSexismSocratesTrumpWattreeTHE CLUELESS DR. W. GABRIEL SELASSIE<div style="text-align: center;"><b></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span></div><b><i></i></b><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE CLUELESS DR. W. GABRIEL SELASSIE</b></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2I8D0BVGSc0/WjqaYSveDcI/AAAAAAAAGHU/K7WebOYz94MxHsjNIskQKJz5aiK4AcV9gCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK_DR.%2BSELASSIE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2I8D0BVGSc0/WjqaYSveDcI/AAAAAAAAGHU/K7WebOYz94MxHsjNIskQKJz5aiK4AcV9gCLcBGAs/s400/BLACK_DR.%2BSELASSIE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>DR. W. GABRIEL SELASSIE</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><b>.</b><br /><span style="font-size: large;">W Gabriel Selassie I:</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>December 14 at 9:12am · <br />Them: Michelle Obama for President. <br />Me: What qualifies her other than sleeping with a President? <br />Them: You ignorant. Stop being fake Black Person. You think you so smart, but you dumb. <br />Me: Please tell me what she has done that qualifies her to be President.<br />Them: "silence"</b></i></span><br />.<b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: large;">THE HEAVY PRICE OF ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM</span></b><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; .</div>Dr. Selassie, you recently posted a comment to one of my posts where I suggested that Michelle Obama be drafted for president.&nbsp; In your post, you said, <i>“I don’t vote for people based on who they slept with. Tell MO to go get a day job.”</i>&nbsp; Then you went on to ask, what qualifies Michelle Obama to be president? You said, <i>“Tell me what MO has done concretely that qualifies her to be President of the United States?”</i><br />.<br />That was <i>THE</i> most uninformed, sexist, and bigoted comment that I’ve heard coming from any Black man since I’ve been posting to the internet, and I’ve been posting to the net since it was called a bulletin board. What makes you assume that Michelle’s only significance as a human being is the fact that she slept with Barack Obama, because she’s a woman?&nbsp; So, once again, Selassie, you've managed to shock me beyond belief with one of your blindly bigoted, and recklessly unwarranted assumptions. The last time I heard anything even approaching your level of cluelessness was in 2008 when Hillary Clinton betrayed a similar kind of condescension against Barack Obama.<br />.<br />In her 2008 run against Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton said,<i> “He’s [John McCain] never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002."</i> In other words, what kind of life experience could an ignorant coon possibly have that would qualify him to be President of the United States?&nbsp; That's exactly the kind of attitude you're bringing to the table with respect to Michelle Obama. The irony of the Hillary Clinton episode was, in the end, it turned out that it was Hillary herself, with all of her "lifetime of experience," that ended up being the only smudge on President Obama's record after eight years in office. But in spite of that glaring irony, I'll respond to your question anyway, because you're obviously in dire need of an education.<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CzSiHpFxZX4/WjfmSH8F4AI/AAAAAAAAGGQ/3xsEqIy68GQM1RB19I7R8qcZmtAbC0-ZgCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BWOMEN%2BBREAKING%2BSHACKLES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CzSiHpFxZX4/WjfmSH8F4AI/AAAAAAAAGGQ/3xsEqIy68GQM1RB19I7R8qcZmtAbC0-ZgCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BWOMEN%2BBREAKING%2BSHACKLES.jpg" /></a></div>Michelle LaVaughn Robinson-Obama attended Princeton University and graduated cum laude in 1985. She then went on to earn a degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. Thereafter, she went to work for the Chicago office of the Sidley Austin law firm, where she met Barack Obama and was assigned as his mentor. She also worked as an assistant to Mayor Richard Daley, and later as the Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development for the city of Chicago. So based on just those qualifications alone, even then - before she became First Lady - Michelle was twice as qualified to be President of the United States as Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was only self-taught as a lawyer, while Michelle Obama graduated from both Princeton and Harvard. In addition, she didn't just sleep with the president, she was his mentor - she was responsible for <i>SCHOOLING</i> him right after he graduated from law school.&nbsp; And another thing, she’s certainly more qualified than either George W. Bush, or, Donald Trump. Charles Ogletree, a Harvard professor who taught both Michelle and Barack Obama, said recently of Barack, "you know his wife should have been president, absolutely." So tell me, Selassie, what in your eyes makes Michelle any less qualified than any one of these gentlemen, the fact that she’s a woman, or because she’s a <i>Black</i> woman?<br />.<br />Your comment clearly demonstrates that your perception is based more on Michelle Obama's race and/or gender than the facts, and there's a phrase for people who go around recklessly spewing such flawed and unwarranted assumptions as you've done here - the phrase is "narrow-minded bigot," whether you're cognizant of your bigotry or not.&nbsp; It's not as though you initially <i>asked </i>whether or not Michelle was qualified, you simply made the <i>assumption</i> that she wasn't, just like Hillary Clinton did in the case of Barack Obama - and by the way, you can't be <i>trained </i>to become President of the United States, you simply have to have the knowledge and intelligence to learn on the job as you go along, and Michelle has more than proven that she has everything it takes in that regard, and more.&nbsp; Look at what we currently have in the White House - a man who is both unqualified, and untrainable, because he has an inability to grasp complex ideas, and has the attention span of a tick.&nbsp; Yet, you question the fact that this highly educated Black woman could do his job.&nbsp; That's unbelievable. <br />.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>BLACK WOMEN HAVE BECOME THE MOST EDUCATED GROUP IN THE UNITED STATES | The Independent</b><br /><b>.</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M7JCJm0HCbI/Wjqc-O9jJxI/AAAAAAAAGHg/Qkp6XFZS6iUiRgS0fUA_XAHQZQcb6NiSQCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BEDUCATED%2BWOMEN%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="400" height="187" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M7JCJm0HCbI/Wjqc-O9jJxI/AAAAAAAAGHg/Qkp6XFZS6iUiRgS0fUA_XAHQZQcb6NiSQCLcBGAs/s400/BLACK%2BEDUCATED%2BWOMEN%2B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Black women are now the most educated group in the US, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Between 2009 and 2010, black women earned 68 percent of associate's degrees, 66 percent of bachelor's degrees, 71 percent of master's degrees and 65 percent</i> of all doctorates awarded to <b><i><span style="color: #6a6a6a;">black</span></i></b> students.</div><div style="text-align: center;">www.independent.co.uk › News › World › Americas Jun 3, 2016 <br /><i>.</i>&nbsp;</div>&nbsp;And in another thoughtless comment, you said, <i>“I am not sure if Black people were ever behind neoliberalism. Can you explain?”</i><br />.<br />That’s yet another ridiculous statement.&nbsp; It was Black people who got behind Hillary Clinton to get her the Democratic nomination during the 2016 primaries, and it was also Black people who were running around calling Bill Clinton “Our first Black president” - even as he was creating the Prison/Industrial complex which ended up negatively impacting the lives of more Black people than there were slaves in all of America in 1850 - and the Clintons virtually INVENTED neoliberalism.&nbsp; So how can you say Black people weren’t behind neoliberalism?&nbsp; Most Black people are into personality politics rather than movements, so they're into whatever their favorite politician is into, a flaw in our thinking that we're going to have to correct, because the Clintons were the very face of neoliberalism due to their closet conservatism.&nbsp; The fact is, I’m still fighting many Black people over their mindlessly unwarranted love of the Clintons for that very reason:<br /><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>A MESSAGE TO HILLARY CLINTON CULTISTS</b></div>&nbsp;.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uyfe4toVmNM/Wjb0k57cKII/AAAAAAAAGF4/EawtxC9Xq1Isda87jmoYy1BCjKXQrak-gCLcBGAs/s1600/CLINTONS%2BAND%2BTRUMP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uyfe4toVmNM/Wjb0k57cKII/AAAAAAAAGF4/EawtxC9Xq1Isda87jmoYy1BCjKXQrak-gCLcBGAs/s1600/CLINTONS%2BAND%2BTRUMP.jpg" /></a></div>Whenever Clinton cultists try to point their finger at those of us who refused to vote for Hillary Clinton it makes me want to throw up. They shouldn’t point their finger at those of us who refused to vote for this woman, but look to themselves for being so delusional that they thought they could force the most hated and distrusted Democratic nominee since the Civil War down the people’s throat. <br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The Democrats didn’t lose to Trump on election night, Trump became the President-Elect during the Democratic primaries due to the unrealistic, short-sighted, and uninformed stupidity of Clinton cultists during the Democratic primaries. They didn’t have sense enough to realize that trying to force America to choose between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was like trying to force INFORMED Americans to choose between cyanide and strychnine. In addition, they failed to realize that conservatives who claimed not to like Trump, secretly loved everything he stood for, so when they went into the voting booth, they secretly voted for him. <br />.<br />On the other hand, trying to get INFORMED progressives to vote for Hillary Clinton - who, again, was the most lying, distrusted, and hated Democratic nominee since the Civil War - they were asking progressives who were much more informed than themselves to vote for David Duke, since the Clintons have done a hundred times more damage to the American middle class, minorities, and the Black community than the Klan has ever done. So they need to put that dumb-ass bullshit to rest. We have Trump as a direct result of Clinton cultists’ closed-minded lying, deceit, corruption, and uninformed determination to shove Hillary Clinton down America’s throat in spite of the fact that we said we didn’t want her.<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--2YXe47ZShg/Wjb1r0Ef-3I/AAAAAAAAGGA/5o89RgjboREpIFTVlaz1SfC6Emb1bjIQgCLcBGAs/s1600/Clinton%2Band%2BTrump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="592" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--2YXe47ZShg/Wjb1r0Ef-3I/AAAAAAAAGGA/5o89RgjboREpIFTVlaz1SfC6Emb1bjIQgCLcBGAs/s400/Clinton%2Band%2BTrump.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The Clintons walk like liberals and talk like liberals but they always seem to leave conservative policies in their wake. They've been more successful in promoting the conservative agenda and destroying the American middle-class way of life than any administration in American history, including Ronald Reagan's. They're responsible for NAFTA, which allowed $20 an hour jobs to be sent out of the country to be performed by people who make less per week than many upper-middle-class Americans spent on lunch per day, and they gutted Glass-Steagall (which President Roosevelt put into place to prevent Wall Street greed from plunging the nation into a second Great Depression), which led directly to the 2008 Wall Street crash. Clinton also abolished the Fairness Doctrine (no, it wasn't Reagan as many people think. Reagan simply prevented it from being elevated from a regulation to a law, but Clinton abolished it outright). That led to the creation of the corporate media culture and propaganda machines like Fox News that were then allowed to spew conservative propaganda and disinformation with impunity.<br />.<br />Clinton's "Welfare Reform" led to the undue suffering of millions of poor Americans. And then, after colluding with Ronald Reagan to flood the Black community with crack cocaine while governor of Arkansas, after becoming president - even as Black people were running around calling him our “first Black president” - Clinton signed the most draconian crime bill in United States history to incarcerate on a massive scale the very victims of the crime that HE committed, just to prove to Republicans that he wasn’t “soft on coons” - and he actually paid states <i>EXTRA</i> to give those victims longer sentences. And again, as a direct result, today there are more Black people under the control of the prison/industrial complex than were enslaved in all of America in 1850, a decade prior to the Civil War, and that very same prison industrial complex became one of Hillary Clinton's largest and most prolific political contributors.<br />.<br />Thus, as a direct result of Clinton’s unconscionable actions, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Black people have been completely destroyed - and it’s still having a negative impact on Black people today. There's currently a huge part of an entire generation of young Black people who don't know anything about their culture, and don't really know what it means to be Black, because the people who were responsible for teaching them were either dead, in prison, or mentally disabled by the effects of crack cocaine. As a result, instead of developing their potential and preparing for the future, many of these young people, who were literally raised by the corporate media, has been conditioned to believe that their role in life is to be criminals, drug addicts, and at the very bottom of society. In addition, they're being mesmerized by the media by being fed a constant diet of music that celebrates drug use, killing one another, and referring to the very womb of their culture as "bitches and hoes." So their fate is all but sealed. And worse, they're unfit parents for the generation that's coming up.<br />.<br />So if a new election were being held tomorrow and my vote alone would determine the outcome, I'd still vote against Hillary, Trump, or noTrump. It’s much easier to fight a bloviating idiot than it is the insidious treachery of a Hillary Clinton, because she's more subtle, and not in your face. We have the entire country up-in-arms against Trump, but with Hillary it would have been business as usual, because she would cut our throats with a scapel instead of a hacksaw.<br />.<br /><i><b>"New Democrats</b>, also called <b>Centrist Democrats</b>, <b>Clinton Democrats</b> or <b>Moderate Democrats</b>, are a relatively <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrism" title="Centrism">centrist</a> ideological faction within the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democratic Party</a> that emerged after the victory of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush" title="George H. W. Bush">George H. W. Bush</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1988" title="United States presidential election, 1988">1988 presidential election</a>. Describing themselves as "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrism" title="Centrism">centrist</a>", they are an economically moderate to conservative and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Way" title="Third Way">Third Way</a>" faction which dominated the party for around 20 years, starting in the late 1980s after the US electorate turned to the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_right" title="Political right">political right</a>. They are represented by organizations such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrat_Network" title="New Democrat Network">New Democrat Network</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrat_Coalition" title="New Democrat Coalition">New Democrat Coalition</a>."</i><br />.<br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrats" target="_blank"></a><span style="color: blue;"></span><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrats" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">New Democrats - Wikipedia</span></a></b><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrats<br />.<br />So Dr. Selassie, if you profess to be an educator, you really should bone up on what’s going on around you, or at the very least, put more thought into what you say before you say it.&nbsp; Because, again, the comments you’ve made above are absolutely ridiculous, and as a so-called educator, you’re not only embarrassing yourself, but you’re embarrassing the Black community as a whole. Many in this White supremacist society already think we’re ignorant, so please don’t add to that perception, because as we<i> should</i> be able to see, such perceptions are deadly. We can't out-scream 'em, because they control the media, and we can't outfight 'em, because they control the military and police, so our only alternative is to out-think 'em.&nbsp; That's where our educators <i>should </i>come in, but you're absolutely worthless until you train <i>yourself </i>to think efficiently, and I'm not seeing that here. What I see is a lot of very sloppy thinking.<br />.<br />So I’m keeping a list of some of the more outrageous comments being made by politicians, ministers, and so-called Black intellectuals for a book on “THE PRICE OF ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM,” and I can see now that you're gonna be featured quite prominently, because it's very important for the Black community to understand that the primary reason that Black people can’t find justice is because we aren’t respected, and the reason we’re not respected is because far too few of us are using our creativity and powerful intellect for anything other than singin’, dancin’, and running with a ball. <br />.<br />Due to a system filled with shallow-minded, uninspired, and tribalist educators, our educational institutions are conferring advanced degrees upon people who are actually moderately educated 9th graders who fail to understand that no one can educate you. You must educate yourself. For that reason Black people can't afford to just think as a hobby, we must make thinking<i> a way of life</i>. <br />.<br />But unfortunately, many of us in the Black community would rather be seen as cool, than knowledgeable - we're not as interested in actually seeking knowledge as we are wearing the robe across the stage to get a receipt from the White man attesting to the fact that we've been through his brainwashing&nbsp; academy- and we’re paying a heavy price for that. <br />.<br />So do the Black community a favor - if you choose to be an educator, dedicate yourself to being a <i>rea</i>l educator. Don't just stand before a class and regurgitate the words of dead White men, teach students to think for themselves; and don't just collect a check for keeping our young people ignorant and uninspired, teach them to be careful, thoughtful, and creative thinkers.&nbsp; If you're not doing those things, regardless of what you're being paid for, you're not an educator, you're a fraud - just another Cornel West, with his "prophetic tradition" and advanced degrees in talkin' snakes.&nbsp; <br />.<br />"The Prophetic tradition?" That's laughable. Prophecy and all other unfounded beliefs are the very antithesis of knowledge. It translates into Voodoo. Truly learned individuals believe in efficient thought, not prophecy or any other unfounded beliefs, and what seems to be your trove of unexamined assumptions fall right into that category.&nbsp; Instead of examining the facts, you indulged your sexist and/or racist mindset to simply <i>assume </i>that Michelle Obama doesn't possess the wherewithal to be&nbsp; President of the United States.&nbsp; But if you were truly a man of knowledge and wisdom (putting your PhD, receipts, and all other accoutrements of alleged knowledge aside for the moment), immediately after making such a baseless assumption, your very next thought should have been, "What evidence do I have of that?" That, in turn, would have led to your doing at least a minimal amount of research, which would have helped to inform you, and it would have prevented you from making a public fool of yourself.<br />.<br />You once told me that you didn't answer one of my questions because since I didn't have a PhD in psychology you thought it would be a waste of time.&nbsp; But as I told you on that occasion, Socrates was a mere stonemason, yet, by many, he's considered the father of modern thought, and he educated some the greatest minds of his time, including Plato. So you should never confuse education with intelligence.&nbsp; While I haven't been anointed by the White man with one of his PhDs, nevertheless, I'm something of an educator myself, so I sincerely hope you have the innate intelligence to embrace the following axiom: Arrogance betrays itself. If you possess the kind of brilliance that warrants arrogance, you should also possess enough wisdom to avoid it.<br />.<br />And let me leave you with this bit of knowledge.&nbsp; It involves two very simple concepts. First, never rely on a receipt from the White man to attest to your intellect. That's a form of worship, because you can't worship a document without worshipping the man who conferred it upon you. Your PhD has absolutely no value unless you assume that the man who conferred it upon you is superior to yourself.&nbsp; Thus, you're relying on the fact that the man who conferred your receipt upon you is not an idiot himself. There are enough advanced degrees in congress to be used as toilet paper, yet congress is undoubtedly among the most dysfunctional institutions in America. Think about that. It speaks volumes regarding the relative value of credentials as opposed to intellect.<br />.<br />And second, always make sure you know what the hell you're talking about before you start shootin' off your mouth.&nbsp; That'll prevent you from embarrassing yourself in the future. Always avoid the tendency to jump on your high horse, because it's inevitable that you're going to come across people capable of dragging you off of it. Instead, you should always think of yourself as a<i> student</i> of knowledge, intent on sharing what you've learned with your peers, because in the final analysis, that's what we all are - students.<br /><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">CORNEL (THE PROPHET) WEST ON THE VERY MORNING THAT BARACK OBAMA ANNOUNCED HIS CANDIDACY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HXj3_pjTTwg" width="420"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE VERY SAME CORNEL WEST SUCKIN' UP </b><b>- AND LEAVING MESSAGES AND PRAYERS </b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>OVER THE PHONE - </b></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">AFTER OBAMA WON&nbsp;</span></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eESlFxd8upE/Wjp6d3J0tPI/AAAAAAAAGHE/6ljGgAUG-mkr8Qryk8N9Yq12Xw5_Vz7eACLcBGAs/s1600/Cornel%2BWest%2Bsuckin%2527%2BUp.jpg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="266" height="283" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eESlFxd8upE/Wjp6d3J0tPI/AAAAAAAAGHE/6ljGgAUG-mkr8Qryk8N9Yq12Xw5_Vz7eACLcBGAs/s400/Cornel%2BWest%2Bsuckin%2527%2BUp.jpg.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">NOBEL PRIZE WINNER </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">AND FORMER OBAMA CRITIC</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T4s7GxyY0aU/WjpmXHezdFI/AAAAAAAAGG0/RnHEtpdM8_s_TlamF_mIXibDjeqocxcIQCLcBGAs/s1600/Obama%2BOne%2Bof%2BBest%2BPresidents.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T4s7GxyY0aU/WjpmXHezdFI/AAAAAAAAGG0/RnHEtpdM8_s_TlamF_mIXibDjeqocxcIQCLcBGAs/s320/Obama%2BOne%2Bof%2BBest%2BPresidents.png" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></div>Eric L. Wattree<br /><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/"><u><span style="color: blue;">http://wattree.blogspot.com/</span></u></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><u><span style="color: blue;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</span></u></a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102"><u><span style="color: blue;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a> <br />. <br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-heavy-price-of-anti-intellectualism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-4548984111953098404Sat, 09 Dec 2017 15:44:00 +00002017-12-16T01:46:54.602-08:00Black FamilyLoveLustPassionThe Black WomanWattreeWATTSDID THE WHITE MAN DESTROY THE BLACK FAMILY, OR DID WE HAVE A HAND IN IT?<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span><br /><b><i><u></u></i></b><b><i></i></b></div><b>DID THE WHITE MAN DESTROY THE BLACK FAMILY, OR DID WE HAVE A HAND IN IT?</b></div>.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z5BZXqQbxf4/Wivv-5_bHuI/AAAAAAAAGEU/1zBu-fuZRtMMIt4RWlC9Xt4Glle6jePLgCLcBGAs/s1600/WATTS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1600" height="175" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z5BZXqQbxf4/Wivv-5_bHuI/AAAAAAAAGEU/1zBu-fuZRtMMIt4RWlC9Xt4Glle6jePLgCLcBGAs/s400/WATTS.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">A HOME IN WATTS</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>When I was a kid growing up in the Los Angeles area called Watts, we lived large. That was in my pre-political days, so I didn’t even know there was a race problem, because we lived in our area, and the White folks lived a few blocks across Alameda in theirs, and we rarely came into contact with one another. The only time I even saw White kids was when I was watching Sheriff John or the Mickey Mouse Club on television. <br />.<br />My grandparents owned three homes in their lifetime, and my grandfather worked around the corner from our house at Berg’s Pipe and Steel.&nbsp; He worked so close to our home that he used to come home for lunch every single day.&nbsp; During those days there was nothing I didn’t have, and the family rode around in a brand new car. The neighborhood seemed to be solid middle class, and all of my friends had a mother and father in the home. When I first heard the word “ghetto” I wondered what the hell they were talking about. I thought the only difference between Black people and White people was that White folks looked funny, like they’d been dipped in bleach. But all that began to change in 1965 after the Watts riots.&nbsp; I didn’t even know what the riots were about, because all the people I knew were living well.<br />.<br />But I was recently sent a very insightful video where a Black psychologist alleged that the White man was responsible for the deterioration of the Black family. Now, I don't think that the brother was purposely lying, because as I said, most of the video was very insightful, and the brother seemed very learned and credible. But in this instance I think his assessment was inaccurate, and while I'm not one to defend the White man, I'm a firm believer in following truth wherever it leads and regardless to whose ox it gores, because in order to move forward we must base our assessments on truth - and the truth is, while the White man undoubtedly controls most things in this White supremacist society, he cannot control our character. So there are some things that we have to take responsibility for ourselves, and this is one of them.<br /><br />What caused the deterioration of the Black family was Black people themselves. It wasn’t the White man who caused the deterioration of the Black family, it was integration. The Black family survived slavery, the Great Depression, and Jim Crow, so why is it falling apart now?&nbsp; I'll tell you why, because once Black people were given the opportunity to get the best jobs and date White women, many brothers went crazy. They started buying expensive cars, moved out of the neighborhood, and started flo-showin’ by driving through the community with White blonds decorating their passenger seats. They also started treating sisters like they were second-class citizens who were only put on Earth to be used and abused - and we still see evidence of that today, with rappers runnin’ around callin’ sisters “bitches” and “hoes.”&nbsp; <br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-epE-3bPMonk/WjEhEknFtsI/AAAAAAAAGFM/vRicYU2fCzcy9cgEaSoyMWliLJycbkaKwCLcBGAs/s1600/WATTREE_FAMILY%2BSTEPS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-epE-3bPMonk/WjEhEknFtsI/AAAAAAAAGFM/vRicYU2fCzcy9cgEaSoyMWliLJycbkaKwCLcBGAs/s320/WATTREE_FAMILY%2BSTEPS.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>Now I'm not saying that Black men shouldn't fall in love with White women and marry them - people should marry whoever becomes their soulmate - but these brothers didn't want to marry these women - they didn't want to marry anybody - they just wanted to use them as trophies to say, "Look what I got!" So it was all about ego, flo-showin', and gorging themselves on something they were once denied. They were like hungry kids in a candy store.<br />.<br />It is that attitude that's killing both Black families, and the Black community, because it was sisters who used to keep brothers in check and forced them to become men. So it’s no accident that we now see forty-year-old males running around in tennis shoes and baseball caps like they’re still fifteen years old.&nbsp; They can get away with that now, but back in the day, a brother couldn’t even get a date with a sister unless he brought some manhood to the table.&nbsp; Now all he needs is a couple of joints and the price of a bottle of Hennessy. So sisters have caved in. Instead of forcing brothers to work and become real men in order to get them, they’ve become so desperate to get a man (make that a male) that they do whatever they have to do to get one - including selling themselves cheap. <br />.<br />You see, sisters are not as prone to step outside of their race to find companionship as a brother.&nbsp; Over the centuries sisters have been taught to remain loyal to Black men come hell or high water. As a result, they’ve made themselves so available that a brother no longer has to become a man to get what he wants. He can get all of the sex and companionship he needs for just a few kind words and a couple of joints, and, from a different woman every night. So why should he even think about becoming responsible or getting married and raising a family - he's already living the good life, and without any responsibilities. <br />.I wrote the piece below for a friend who was actually <i>giving classes</i> to sisters, teaching them how to satisfy their<i> "men."</i>&nbsp; She was teaching sisters the best way to give head, and how to use their vaginal muscles to bring their deadbeats the most pleasure - and this was a dynamite sister who, if she became stingy enough, any <i>real man</i> would do a headstand just for the opportunity to kiss her. This situation clearly points out that the problem with single-parent households in the Black community is brought about by the fact that far too many sisters have lost their old-school value of self-worth, so ironically, most of their misery is being brought about by their predisposition to be loyal to Black men. So what's needed is for them to take a page from their grandmothers' book. They need to come together and make a man work to get them. If they did that, once a brother did get them, he'd be much more appreciative - sisters would be treated like the gold they are, and their man would work to make sure that no other man could turn their head. <br />.<br />Black women are precious, and the most valuable asset that the Black man has ever had, but they're allowing Black men to forget that, so they must begin to recognize their value and remind these turkeys of what they have to lose. My late wife was an old-school sister. We were married for 34 years, and every day of those 34 years I had to prove that I was worth her holding on to. That’s the way our grandmothers worked it, and they had no problem with hanging on to their man. <br />.<br />My grandfather use to come home every Friday after work and hand his uncashed paycheck over to<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>my grandmother. That’s why they were so prosperous and I was able to live such a carefree life. They had the money to allow me to live like any White kid, and in many cases, better - because my grandmother on my father's side lived directly across the street, and they use to compete to see who could spoil me the most. That’s why I don’t “know my place" to this day, because as far as I’m concerned, my place is on top, and White folks are just another group of people with straight hair.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>ARE SISTERS TURNING BLACK MEN INTO BOYS WITH THEIR LIBERATED ATTITUDES TOWARD SEX</b><br />.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oyqxsts7WGo/WiwYfC-4o9I/AAAAAAAAGEk/9yRTZfFvScw0LTb4e79CZrkbOrd6srG-gCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BFAMILY%2BVALUES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="404" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oyqxsts7WGo/WiwYfC-4o9I/AAAAAAAAGEk/9yRTZfFvScw0LTb4e79CZrkbOrd6srG-gCLcBGAs/s400/BLACK%2BFAMILY%2BVALUES.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Women talk to me all the time about how useless and irresponsible many&nbsp;men have become, which I pretty much agree with.&nbsp;But what&nbsp;women don’t seem to understand is the pivotal role that they're playing in bringing about&nbsp;their own&nbsp;frustration.</div>.<br />Women have made casual sex far too readily available in our society, and that has resulted in two things that place them at a decided disadvantage. First, women have allowed sex to become so easy to obtain that men no longer have to become real men to get it. As a result, there’s no incentive for men to become responsible adults and father figures. That’s why you see forty-year-old men still living with their mamas and hanging out on the block wearing sideway-tilting baseball caps. That image doesn't&nbsp;lend itself to being a&nbsp;father figure or a good role model, but unlike in the past, they don’t have to be, because if they can come up with a couple of joints and a pint of gin they can get all the sex they can handle regardless to how dysfunctional they are as men.&nbsp; <br />.<br />Things were different in the past. As a rule, in order for our grandfathers to obtain sex during their generation, they had to prove their manhood, jump through a series of hoops, and wine and dine our grandmothers for months and even years - and in many cases, they even had to marry them first. But now all a young boy has to do is walk into a club with enough pocket change to buy a drink or two. That gives him no incentive whatsoever to become a responsible adult, and all the incentive in the world to continue hangin’ out in the clubs instead of focusing on what's going on around him and becoming a man.<br />.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TokKN-bkqTs/UsvUYBgCaBI/AAAAAAAABxM/b9luzJtH4Vc/s1600/Val+Portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TokKN-bkqTs/UsvUYBgCaBI/AAAAAAAABxM/b9luzJtH4Vc/s1600/Val+Portrait.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">VALDIE WHITMORE-WATTREE</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>Women used to know how to handle their business. Even with my late wife, Val, while she wasn’t as stingy and strict as some of the ladies from the old school, when we were going together, even while secretly keeping in regular touch with my mother,&nbsp;she stopped speaking to me for an entire year until I caved in and adopted the kind of lifestyle that she approved of - and, thank God, she kept me jumping through one hoop after another until the night she died. If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been capable of writing this article. She's been gone since 2005, but even today when I'm facing a challenge I can hear her whisper in my ear, "You can do this, Eric."&nbsp; So in a very real sense, this article represents a letter to sisters from Val's grave. If she were here she’d say, "Girl, what you have beneath your dress is the only leverage you have with these turkeys, so use it wisely" - and anyone who reads this article that knew&nbsp;Val could tell you, I’m not lyin’.<br />.<br />The second way that the sexual mores of our society is hurting women is, even among&nbsp;the men who are responsible - and who <em>are</em> looking forward to starting families -&nbsp;they're finding it increasingly difficult to find the kind of woman who they feel comfortable about starting a family with.<br />.<br />The problem is, women don't understand men, and the reverse is also true. That's why most men and women can only relate to one another on a sexual level. Men think that women are impressed by what THEY think is "cool," and women think that men are impressed by what a woman finds impressive in a man - swagger, confidence, and assertiveness. But both are wrong. In many cases, what men consider "cool," women consider silly and simply put up with. And most men don’t consider swagger and assertiveness attractive in a woman at all. Those qualities&nbsp;boils down to aggressiveness, and most men see that as a male characteristic, so why would a man find&nbsp;a woman who acts like a man attractive? Do women find men who act like women attractive? Not really. So the very same thing is true in the reverse. Men and women have different needs. So many times, when men and women try to impress one another they either turn each other off,&nbsp;or make fools of themselves. But of course, most men will put up with anything as long as it will lead to a woman opening her legs, and then get around the fellas and talk about like a dog thereafter - "Oh, yeah, I had a piece of that . . . "<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUKjbrGzO9M/UwcrvAkF1hI/AAAAAAAAB1U/Uww6_VgTCw4/s1600/Woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUKjbrGzO9M/UwcrvAkF1hI/AAAAAAAAB1U/Uww6_VgTCw4/s1600/Woman.jpg" /></a></div>Let me give you an example. Many women think they can get a man by acting sensuous, sexually provocative, and assertive. In a sense, that’s true. A woman, any woman, can get a man that way, but only as a sex partner, not as her man. Because men classify women in three different categories. The first category is hoe, or someone to use instead of having to masturbate. The second category is sex partner and road dawg. Men like the women in this category as friends, someone to party with, and to have as a sex partner. Unlike the women in category one, men actually like and respect the women in&nbsp;category two women, but not enough to marry - that is, unless they fall in love by accident. Men generally choose a woman who is sexually stingy as a wife. The reason for that is quite simple, so he won't have to worry about her cheating once they become a couple. <br />.<br />Men will die to protect their manhood. Nothing is more important to us, and there’s no greater assault on a man’s manhood than a cheating woman, because it sends a message&nbsp;that says two things - first, that&nbsp;he wasn’t man enough to&nbsp;keep her in line, and secondly,&nbsp;that the man she’s cheating with is more of a man than he is. So women should understand that if they ever get caught cheating, that’s it. The man may not leave you immediately, but from that point on, he’s just waiting for the right "lady" to come along&nbsp;so he can&nbsp;replace you.<br />.<br />Men are not like many women, who'll forgive and move on with the simple assurance that it won't ever happen again, because you’ve assaulted his manhood, and that's an unforgivable offense.&nbsp;You've&nbsp;fallen off the pedestal that a man requires his woman to stand upon, so he'll never look at you in the same way again. &nbsp;So generally speaking, the women that men like to party and have fun with, are not the women that they choose for a wife, because even though he may like them, they’re perceived as being much too casual in their sexuality.<br />.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M1cw1uUY9IA/WiysGIdJktI/AAAAAAAAGE0/bxiIrn75plUbc1aOTtTrXy_crf9Vz2LFACLcBGAs/s1600/WATTREE_GRANDMAMA%2BLEALER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="413" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M1cw1uUY9IA/WiysGIdJktI/AAAAAAAAGE0/bxiIrn75plUbc1aOTtTrXy_crf9Vz2LFACLcBGAs/s320/WATTREE_GRANDMAMA%2BLEALER.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">GRANDMAMA LEALER</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>When a man decides to marry - unless he falls in love with a category two woman by accident as a result of having repeated sex with her - he chooses a wife from a third category. These women are generally very protective of their sexuality, low-key, and feminine. Men not only feel that these women are more apt to be loyal, but there’s also a psychological component to it. Category three women are harder to get, and it’s human nature to want most what’s hardest to obtain. That’s why a Bentley is more valuable than a Ford. While both cars will get you where you want to go, a Bentley is more prestigious because it’s harder to obtain. The same is true of a woman. A man wants a woman that other men can't get, and once he gets such a woman, he not only gets uncorrupted sex, but also, a boost to his ego in knowing that he’s lying next to a woman that other men can’t have. He also knows that if she didn’t think he was special, she wouldn’t be lying next to him. That’s a huge boost to his sense of manhood, and 99% of a man’s sexual pleasure is mental, or ego driven. Thus, a man is not as interested in having a sex expert for a woman as he is having a woman who is loyal.<br />.<br />On the other hand, many women do want a sex expert - or, at least, a man who has sense enough to consider her needs -&nbsp;because far too often in casual sexual encounters, women end up with men who are just interested in satisfying themselves, and then leave the woman hanging and sexually frustrated when they're done.&nbsp;So a woman wants a man that she knows has the sexual expertise to provide for her sexual needs. But a man doesn’t have to worry about that, because all he needs to obtain satisfaction is a warm, wet, vagina - any warm, wet, vagina. <br />.<br />Thus, all a female sex expert means to a man is hoe. Because the assumption is, in order to obtain her sexual expertise, she had to have made herself available to a lot of men. Therefore, she doesn’t see him as special; he just happened to be in the right place at the right time - and if it wasn’t him, it would be someone else. Now don't get me wrong, he’ll PRETEND that the "expert" is rockin’ his world, and doing something for him that can’t be done by any woman with a warm and wet vagina, but that’s just to stroke the woman's ego so he can have sex with her whenever he feels the urge.<br />.<br />So personally, I’d rather be with a woman who’s simply capable of enjoying the lust of the sexual experience than I would somebody who’s trying all kinds of techniques on me, any day. Because the "expert’s" head is not in the right place. I want a woman focused on how good SHE'S feeling, and fixated on that tingling sensation that’s building up within HER loins, not on how to contract her muscles to impress me with how good she is in bed. After all, a man’s biggest challenge is NOT to climax too soon, so why would he want somebody who’s gonna defeat that purpose? That’s also why men indulge in oral sex, because there is nothing sexier to us than a woman who’s out of her mind with lust and sexual passion. So if there’s any expert in the bed, I want to be the one.<br />.<br />So when a woman starts talking sex to a man, or try to be overly sexy, she’s not doing herself a favor. All she's doing is ringing the dinner bell that brings out the predator in a man, but he automatically starts thinking in terms of fun and games with a woman of either category one or two. So just because a woman can get a man’s attention in that way - and any woman can - she shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that she’s going to hold his attention. He’s just gorging himself on hamburger until he can find him a steak&nbsp;- a category three woman; wife material, or a woman who’s not gonna even consider the possibly of sex until he jumps through a lot of hoops to get there. She's the prize that most men are after.<br />.<br />Now, I want to emphasize that I’m not advocating any position on this issue. If you’ll notice, the title of this article&nbsp;is a question, not an assertion. My intent is to simply give women insight into how the vast majority of men think. How do I know how most men think? Because from the time we're little boys we spent an inordinate amount of time discussing women and girls - like when Donald Trump was bragging to the fellas about grabbing women by the genitals. So whether&nbsp;or not what I'm saying is&nbsp;perceived as sexist is not my concern. I’m simply relating the truth - a truth that is common knowledge among most men, because when it comes to sex, and a man's exploitation of women, men are far from politically correct, unless they're trying to keep that SPECIAL WOMAN to themselves. You never hear a word about those women. But if a woman is just a casual "piece of ass," every brother he knows know about you, right up to how you act and/or beg when you're having an orgasm.&nbsp; That's why "hoes" are generally so popular.<br />.<br />While many women may consider what I’ve said here old fashion, men have assessed women in the same way since the beginning of time and across cultural boundaries, and it’s very unlikely to change anytime soon. But the problem with truth, and the primary reason that so many people object to it is, it doesn’t always conform to either ideology or fashion. It simply is what it is. So efficient thought requires that we ALWAYS give truth priority over ideology. But much too often we try to give ideology priority over truth. Then when truth&nbsp;comes into&nbsp;conflict with our ideology, we try to contort&nbsp;the truth&nbsp;to fit more comfortably into what we want to believe, and unfortunately, that's what many women do when it comes to the subject of sex - "Things have changed." No, when it comes to men and sex, things will never change.<br />.<br />As a result of that tendency, modern women are living under the mass delusion that because their attitudes have changed, the attitudes of men have changed along with them, but they are horribly mistaken. You see, men simply pretend to have changed because it’s to our advantage. The modern&nbsp;female mind-set makes casual sex much more available, and we love it -&nbsp;I certainly do, because I’m just as predatory regarding sex as any other man. But that doesn’t mean that I’m so accommodating to that new mind-set that I want to marry the women that I’m having sex with - and I’m very comfortable in saying that MOST men feel the same way - and that’s a major contributor to the dysfunction of the modern family structure, which is the point of this article.<br />.<br />I want to emphasize that I'm not suggesting that women should remain celibate until marriage, but I'm sure many women&nbsp;are going to read that into it.&nbsp;I'm simply saying&nbsp;that men prefer women who are "protective" of their sexuality, and women need to understand that, regardless to what a man may say.&nbsp; Women need to keep in mind that a man will say anything, and take any position, that allows sex to be readily available. But if you want to see a man’s true attitude toward female sexuality, all you have to do is even suggest that his mother or daughter is less than protective of their sexuality. You’ll end up with an extremely hostile individual on your hands.&nbsp;Thus, a man's attitude toward sex is very complex - while we love it being easily available, we don't want the women in our lives involved in&nbsp;contributing to the ease of&nbsp;availability.<br />.<br />So the bottom line is, the new female mindset towards sex not only creates a disincentive for men to step up to the plate to become responsible husbands and fathers, but once they are husbands and fathers, the attitude of many women outside of the marriage creates constant pressure for men to cheat. Thus, the attitude of the modern women&nbsp;regarding casual sex often serves to create&nbsp;the very&nbsp;Hell that&nbsp;many women&nbsp;often complain about.<br />.<br />Think about it. What incentive does a man have to limit his sex life and take on the responsibility of settling down with one woman when he can&nbsp;have all the sex that he can handle -&nbsp;with multiple women - and without having to take on any responsibility at all?&nbsp;Not much.&nbsp;And what cultural incentive does a married man have to remain faithful?&nbsp;Again, not much.&nbsp;So I'm not advocating that women reverse their newfound sexual freedom, but rather, to consider carefully how that freedom is used, because every male you come into contact with certainly is.&nbsp;So while I'm not advocating any position, I am suggesting that&nbsp;women learn the rules of the game and not&nbsp;allow&nbsp;themselves to&nbsp;be played, because having that knowledge gives women options on how they want to play the game.<br />.<br />In that regard,&nbsp;what's important for every woman to remember is,&nbsp;while many&nbsp;women's attitude toward sex has changed tremendously over the years, men are still very old fashion when it comes to their woman - they have to be, because the way a man’s woman carries herself is reflective of his manhood - and that's very important to a man. While I know this may sound kinda old-school to contemporary women, with all of the sexual opportunities out there for your man, how you carry yourself may be the determining factor on whether or not your man is willing to make that extra effort to be the kind of man you want him to be.&nbsp;And women should also remember this - as old fashion as your grandmother was, she&nbsp;didn’t have any&nbsp;problem hanging on to her man.<br /><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Love, Pain, Passion, and Lust</strong></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>HER PAIN:<br />.</strong> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">She walks alone, sweet woman-child,<br />her sobs flow warm against the dark;<br />Her need is love, not merely passion,<br />a mighty fortress, her broken heart.<br />.<br />Quivering bodies and breathless moans,<br />she remembers with great delight, <br />but the heat of love is the only flame,<br />her lusting soul craves late at night.<br />.<br />Hungry arms yearn for her shuddering body, <br />to embrace her tenderly with all their might;<br />Shivering lips lust for her succulent passion,<br />as she cries out desperately into the night.<br />.<br />But only true love can quench the thirst <br />that burns red hot,&nbsp;and deep inside,<br />so she faces the pain, again and again,<br />and late at night she cries.<br />.<br />Masculine shadows of delusion and lust<br />caress their egos more than her pain,<br />for her convulsing body&nbsp;quivers not for them,<br />but for her fantasy <br />of a warm and gentle man.<br />.<br />So, with head held high, by light of day,<br />but, mournful eyes, that do betray,<br />unspent love, and a breaking heart,<br />and the fear of sobs, when day turns dark.<br /><br /><strong>HIS PASSION:</strong><br />.<br />She's dark, she’s passionate, and she's lovely,<br />but she doesn't know herself:<br />.<br />She doesn't know <br />the extent her smiling eyes <br />devastate this love-sick heart;<br />The way they dance in the moonlight,<br />subtly beckon, <br />and betray the depth <br />of her sultry passion.<br />.<br />She doesn't know <br />the ecstasy of pleading moans <br />on a humid, Summer night, or<br />the maddening pleasure of glistening bodies <br />entwined in erotic flight.<br />.<br />And<br />She doesn't know<br />the hot breath of passion, <br />as it whispers between her thighs;<br />The gentle kiss, the sting of bliss,<br />the pain of pleasure<br />that burns inside.<br />.<br />She doesn't know <br />the agony of lust <br />while suspended in endless time,<br />as she yearns for sweet release,<br />while desperately clinging to<br />the sweet sublime.<br />.<br />And<br />She doesn't know<br />of frantic begging <br />for that of which she's run,<br />of the animal that leaps inside of her,<br />as flowing chills <br />begin to come.<br />.<br />She doesn't know<br />the embrace of madness<br />as her trembling loins <br />begin to spill . . .<br />.<br />She <br />doesn't know of love, <br />but on this night,<br />her pleading eyes,<br />say she will.</span><br />.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>THEIR LOVE</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xjLjMSut_JU" width="420"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/04/love-pain-passion-and-lust.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Love, Pain, Passion, and Lust</strong></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/04/love-pain-passion-and-lust.html"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2011/04/love-pain-passion-and-lust.html</strong></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div>Eric L. Wattree <br /><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/"><u><span style="color: blue;">http://wattree.blogspot.com/</span></u></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><u><span style="color: blue;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</span></u></a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102"><u><span style="color: blue;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span></u></a> <br />. <br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/12/did-white-man-destroy-black-family-or.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-3343722396977517895Tue, 05 Dec 2017 21:11:00 +00002017-12-06T09:09:00.499-08:00FaithGodManReligionTalking SnakesThe Conversion. The UniverseWalking Dead ManWattreeWHAT KIND OF FAITH WOULD ACCOMMODATE A CHILD MOLESTER?<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>WHAT KIND OF FAITH WOULD ACCOMMODATE A CHILD MOLESTER?</b><br />.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8A-XM1gUK0Q/WicJHkARmzI/AAAAAAAAGD0/SnD_MtGZiDowIrTE0CYoZ6q25ZeuCuz2gCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_HOW%2BTO%2BMAKE%2BA%2BNEGRO%2BCHRISTIAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="444" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8A-XM1gUK0Q/WicJHkARmzI/AAAAAAAAGD0/SnD_MtGZiDowIrTE0CYoZ6q25ZeuCuz2gCLcBGAs/s400/CHRISTIAN_HOW%2BTO%2BMAKE%2BA%2BNEGRO%2BCHRISTIAN.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Faith is about giving “the word of man” priority over the common sense that god bestowed upon us. So I don’t believe in any kind of religion or “supernatural” phenomena, because everything that takes place in the universe is natural; we may not understand it, but if it happens in this universe it’s a natural occurrence. So there is no such thing as anything that's either a "miracle," or, "<i><b>super</b></i>natural."<br />.<br />But some things people are told to have “faith” in just don’t happen, so I don't take anyone seriously who claims to believe in walking dead men or talking snakes.&nbsp; Snakes don’t talk and dead men don’t walk, and we all know it, because God created us with common sense. So anyone who even<i> claims</i> to believe in such nonsense is either delusional, or just flat-out lying.&nbsp; They’ve simply been socialized, or coerced, into accepting such ridiculous nonsense by being threatened as children that if they didn't accept and believe what they’ve been told the Boogey Man was gonna get them. They’ve been taught that all their lives, so now that they're adults they’re afraid to admit they don't believe in these Mother Goose tales, and they’ll lie about it to the end, because man told them to believe in it, and they've accepted man as God's surrogate.&nbsp; But the fact is, man is insignificant in terms of the universe. For all we know what we consider our universe could be nothing more than a subatomic particle under the toenail of some gigantic being.<br />.<br />So the bottom line is, man only believes in the Bible - or whatever happens to be his cultural book of choice - because he's been told to, and he obediently accepts it the same way that he obediently accepted that America was, and is, the "Land of the free," even though they were abusing slaves as they said it, and is currently shooting down children in the street; and that Roy Moore is “a man of God,” even as he molests little girls. Thus, whenever "the word of God" interferes with business as usual, man finds a way to justify circumventing it - and so-called God-loving Christians fall right in line, and not only that, they cheer him on.&nbsp; Thus, religion is nonsense.<br />.<br />So anyone who has “faith” in man and his belief system, even a little bit, is a fool,&nbsp; because man only believes in God as long as God says what he wants him to say, and as long as God doesn’t interfere with his lust for greed, bigotry, and self-service - and again, we currently see an excellent example of how that works in the case of Roy Moore, and in Trump's admission, in one of his rare moments of candor, that he could shoot a person down in the street and the people would still follow him, and that was absolutely true.&nbsp; Because man doesn't believe in God, he believes in what he's <i>told</i> to believe in by other men.&nbsp; That's why man has different beliefs and religions in different parts of the world. It's called socialization.<br />.<br />Thus, due to my early awareness of the nature of Christian self-delusion, manipulation, and gross hypocrisy, I decided as a child to base my life on ethics and the conscience (that I KNOW God gave me), and completely ignore all of man's manipulative fairytales. So I decide what I believe on a case-by-case basis - and that not only goes for religion, but politics and everything else in life. I live my life as though I just woke up on Earth alone and I have to figure out reality as I go along - and without relying on the word of dead White men. Thus, while I'll listen to the opinions of others, and consume the knowledge and wisdom they have to offer, in the final analysis, I never give anyone else's opinion priority over my own. Therefore, I have absolutely no interest in becoming a part of any kind of religious knitting circle.&nbsp; <br />.<br />I view all of man’s various religions in the very same way that I look upon Voodoo.&nbsp; And I view all of his ministers, Popes, and so-call "men of God" as witch doctors and soothsayers.&nbsp; So for me, EVERYTHING must stand up to the test of logic. I examine every issue on it’s own merit, and anything that doesn’t stand up to logical examination, I unceremoniously shit-can it, on the spot.<br />.<br />As a result, I'm not a "believer" in anything that can't be logically proven. Even as a child in Sunday school, when they tried to tell me - with a straight face - that a man walked up to the Red Sea. and essentially, told it to scoot over and let him pass, I, literally, told them to please be serious, and I haven’t been back since. Because I don’t believe in having <i>"faith"</i> in the word of man, or the concept of God jumping through hoops to impress man, and I never have.&nbsp; I believe in thought, and that's served me well over the years. It keeps life simple. It prevents me from being bamboozled by demagogues, and it also keeps me from having to pay for somebody else’s Cadillac in the name of God.&nbsp; <br />.<br /><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B2kQdpjV9Ds" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br />My grandparents were devout Christians, but based on the questions they began to ask me, I think they were jumping onboard my ship just before they died. My grandfather had a story he used to tell people about how the pastor sent his assistant to try to council me, and according to my grandfather, “We ain’t seen the man since.”&nbsp; He thought that was so funny. You see, my grandparents weren’t fools either. They just hadn’t put any serious thought into what they'd been taught, and I’m sure there are many other people in the world just like them.&nbsp; That’s why I’m currently broaching this issue. But I’m not an evangelist, so it’s not my intent to convert anyone to my point of view, because I recognize that faith plays an important role in the lives of many people, but this issue is much too serious to simply be ignored - and especially in the Black community, because our tendency to embrace nonsense is doing serious damage to our ability to be efficient and logical thinkers, and it is exactly those skills that are essential to our liberation as a people.<br />.<br />The point that I'm trying to make is this - you don’t have to believe in Voodoo to believe in God and be a Godly person. I don't think there's anyone any more Godly than I am, but God has absolutely nothing to do with man's religion. Again, religion is the "word of man," not God. So anyone who chooses to believe in walking dead men and talking snakes over the common sense that was bestowed upon them by nature (God), has chosen to give the word of man priority over God.&nbsp; They don't believe in God, they believe in man.<br />.<br />God is whatever force, entity, or process that’s responsible for what we refer to as existence, so if we exist, God exists, regardless of whether God is a he, she, or it. And the mere fact that we’re here to question God’s existence, proves God’s existence - not talkin’ snakes.&nbsp; If you want to commune with God, you don't do it in a building as you drop badly needed money into a collection plate - just go out at night and gaze upon God's creation, and consider the fact, that you're a part of it.&nbsp; I do that every night, and it never fails to make my eyes moist.&nbsp; But on the other hand . . .<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>THE CONVERSION</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div>"Come here nigga and let me teach yo crazy, animal ass about the Lord. The first thing you got to learn is to Love thy Neighbor . . . especially me." <br />. <br />"Yes sir, Massa. Why would anybody not love you, Sir? You so good to me, Massa. Anybody don't love you needs to have dey ass beat real good, Massa.".<br />"Shut up, nigga. I'm talkin'."<br />.<br />"Listen, you been blessed already, and you don't even know the Lord. The Lord made it where you don't have to worry 'bout a thing. I feed you, I put clothes on yo nasty ass, and I give you a shed to sleep in, and all you have to do is whatever the hell I tell you to. Do you know how blessed you are?"<br />.<br />"Oh, indeed I do, Massa. You take good care of me. I's so happy."<br />.<br />"Now, listen real good 'cause dis impotant. God said, thou shalt not steal from me, thou shalt not kill (unless I tell you to), thou shalt not stick another coon's wife (unless we tryin' to make some mo niggas), and nigga, whatever you do, thou shalt not even look like you want to stick a white woman, or we gon lynch yo black ass. You here me, nigga?"<br />.<br />"Oh yes, Massa. We know dat! But Massa, I thought you said thou shalt not kill?"<br />.<br />"Dat means people, fool - real people! Dat don't go for niggas. God wants us to keep you in yo place."<br />."Dat's right, Massa. We sho gotta keep niggas in dey place. No tellin' what a happen if we let dese niggas git loose. God so smart."<br />.<br />"I said shut up, nigga, and listen to the word."<br />.<br />"The next thing you got to learn is, whatever happens on this plantation is God's will bein' done. And if you listen to me, you'll get to live like I do when you die and go to Heaven."<br />.<br />"Live like you, massa? A nigga ain't got no business livin' dat good. What a Po nigga like me gon do with all this? You know I ain't got sense enough to run nothin' like this."<br />.<br />"Just shut up, nigga!" When you dead you gon get some sense - the lord gon give it to you. The Lord can do anything, even give sense to a nigga. And he gon give you all the other niggas you gon need to help you in the fields, too."<br />.<br />"Massa, you so good to me! Thank you for tellin' me all dis. I'm gon be a good nigga - the best nigga you ever seened. Look, I'm gon pray for you right now, and thank the Lord for givin' me so good a massa."<br />.<br />"Shut up and get up off your knees, ya dumb nigga! The fields need tendin'! You pray to the Lord on your own time. God don't won't you talkin' to him when you s'pose to be workin'."<br />.<br />"A couse, Massa. What I been thinkin'? I's so dumb. I don't know why you put up with me, Sir."<br />.<br />"How many times I got to tell you to shut the hell up, nigga?"<br />.<br />"Yes Sir, I's a shuttin', Massa. I's a shuttin', right now."<br />.<br />"Now get yo ass out there in that field and let's get some work done around here . . . Oh, and Toby, have yo woman meet me in the barn. I need to tell her 'bout the Lord too."<br />.<br />"Yes sir, Massa."<br />.<br />"And another thing, Toby, if my momma come a lookin', tell her I'm playin' in my tree house."<br />.<br />"Why you gon go fibbin' to yo momma, Mr. Tommy? She knows you like to sit wit Lou Ann."<br />.<br />"Just shut up, nigga, and do what I said! And tell Lou Ann to wear that pretty dress I like, cause we gon be talkin' 'bout the Lord, so it's gon be like chuch."<br />.<br />"Yes Sir, Mr. Tommy!&nbsp; . . . Whaaaaaaat a friend we have in Jeeeeesus . . ."<br /><br />.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0exXGfzivJ8" width="420"></iframe><strong>.</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;">.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">"ONE NATION</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">&nbsp;UNDER GOD,</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">WITH LIBERTY,</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">AND JUSTICE,</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">FOR ALL."</span></strong></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fumk8CZY5dI/UH9QwU0tBgI/AAAAAAAAA3A/4AvhRSFXCXU/s1600/American+Lynchings2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fumk8CZY5dI/UH9QwU0tBgI/AAAAAAAAA3A/4AvhRSFXCXU/s320/American+Lynchings2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Hmmmmmmmm . . . No shit?</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">.</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/01/ignorance-is-sin.html" target="_blank"><span id="goog_194019433"></span><span style="color: red;">IGNORANCE IS A SIN</span><span id="goog_194019434"></span></a></span></b></span><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;">http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/01/ignorance-is-sin.html</span></b><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Eric L. Wattree<br /><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/"><u><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Http://wattree.blogspot.com</strong></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><strong></strong></span><strong></strong></a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><u><span style="color: blue;"><b>Ewattree@gmail.com</b></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102"><u><span style="color: blue;"><b>Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</b></span></u></a><br />.<br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/12/what-kind-of-faith-would-accommodate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-194805812834654509Fri, 01 Dec 2017 20:33:00 +00002017-12-05T04:56:13.604-08:00SolitudeWattreeSOLITUDE<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span><b><i></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qupTvV7tfRQ/WiG7wtbAFVI/AAAAAAAAGDQ/hC76HiV1BqINOT5UE057hNGDA0_znKm0wCLcBGAs/s1600/WATTREE_SOLITUDE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="850" height="356" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qupTvV7tfRQ/WiG7wtbAFVI/AAAAAAAAGDQ/hC76HiV1BqINOT5UE057hNGDA0_znKm0wCLcBGAs/s640/WATTREE_SOLITUDE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />SOLITUDE</b><br />.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>There was a little house in Watts, in the back my grandparents’ home, that sat totally silent just for me. It sat there in complete obedience to fulfil it’s one and only purpose, to accommodate, and give focus to the thoughts of a young and aimless mind. Totally vacant accept for a sofa and a table, there was no furniture to warm the air.&nbsp; So as I sat in it’s embrace, and quietly drew the thoughts I couldn't express, I could feel the clean, cool air against my face, as it locked the noise and confusion of humanity out of that small niche of the universe that I had claimed as my own.<br />.<br />I loved that house, because it introduced the soul of a child to the beauty of solitude. I would sit there for hours with paper and pencil, trying to bring life to my thoughts. I couldn't write back then, so I would breathe substance into my world by drawing the images of crude little stickmen that I would speak to, then patiently awaited the time when they could speak back. <br />.<br />So all these many years later, I still go there, but only in my mind. I return to escape life’s horrors;&nbsp; I also visit to celebrate life’s triumphs. I go there to commune with those who left me behind.&nbsp; My grandparents are there, my mother is there, and my late wife is there to comfort me when I’m lost.&nbsp; But my manhood is also there to reinforce me, and the depth of my intellect resides there to inform me, and to give flesh to the stickmen I'd left behind.<br />.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_KsdSM0x-pI/WiKxv_RnRLI/AAAAAAAAGDk/2dQ9mw5axfAyqKz4gLAXcRJwCXWdu0QSwCEwYBhgL/s1600/WATTREE_STICKMEN%252C%2BHI.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_KsdSM0x-pI/WiKxv_RnRLI/AAAAAAAAGDk/2dQ9mw5axfAyqKz4gLAXcRJwCXWdu0QSwCEwYBhgL/s320/WATTREE_STICKMEN%252C%2BHI.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Hello, my friend. I'm back.&nbsp;</b></span><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>So, yes, I love that little house, and the perfect solitude that it made all mine. I also love the cool, clean air, and the crude little stickmen, it always brings to mind. <br />.<br />Eric L. Wattree <br />wattree.blogspot.com <br />Ewattree@Gmail.com<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />.<br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/12/solitude.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-402375598060645119Tue, 28 Nov 2017 17:31:00 +00002017-11-29T15:24:01.423-08:00Black communityCelebrityCrabs-in-a-barrelEducationProgressTruthWattreeWhite SupremacyBLACK PEOPLE - IS WHITE SUPREMACY REALLY OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM?<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span><br /><div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" style="text-align: center;"><b>BLACK PEOPLE - IS WHITE SUPREMACY REALLY OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM?</b></div><div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-INzZurQ8z9I/Wh2SpJ_2fWI/AAAAAAAAGCo/IsVqd91f7Z88t4UCOV_xnCJ-D60MR-kCACLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK_TAVIS%2BAND%2BWEST%2BTURNCOATS.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="273" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-INzZurQ8z9I/Wh2SpJ_2fWI/AAAAAAAAGCo/IsVqd91f7Z88t4UCOV_xnCJ-D60MR-kCACLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK_TAVIS%2BAND%2BWEST%2BTURNCOATS.png" /></a></div><div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}">One would have to be a fool to deny the fact that this White supremacist system doesn’t work overtime to keep Black people subjugated, but it gets a lot of help from Black people themselves. Somewhere along the line many Black people just gave up and accepted their plight as being at the bottom-rung of society. Thereafter, their idea of success was being just a little bit better off than other Black people. That’s what led to the crabs-in-a-barrel syndrome in the Black community. Since many of us contend that Black people can’t move forward because “the White man” is holding us down, we compete among ourselves, and then when anyone among us begins to move up to the next rung in society we put all of our efforts into pulling them back down to prevent them from invalidating our valuable excuse for failure. As a direct result, many ambitious and creative Black people can’t manage to get a foothold in society in order to help pull the rest of us up, and it’s a vicious circle. <br />.<br />So as Black people we must learn to follow truth wherever it leads and regardless to whose ox it gores. Then when truth leads to a place or conclusion that we find troubling, we must address the issue honestly and in a forthright manner instead of trying to bend truth into a configuration that brings comfort to our delusions - “It’s not my fault; the White man is responsible for my condition.” That’s bullshit. If it that was true, ALL Black people would be dope fiends, criminals, failures and going in and out of jail - but they’re not. <br />.<br />The vast majority of Black people have never seen the inside of a police station or jail in their lives, and they have the courage, determination, and intellectual discipline to move forward in spite of the obstacles placed in their path. So again, while it's undeniable that this White supremacist society works hard to stifle Black progress, so do Black people, and the following explains how and why: <br />.<br />We’d rather undermine one another than stick together, we often lack focus, many of us are much more interested in merely LOOKING successful than actually becoming successful (flo-showin’), and far too many of us are more interested in becoming sports stars and entertainers than we are in being competent, learned, and enlightened individuals. And finally, many of us use all our energy and intellectual creativity doing exactly what I’m sure is going to be done in this thread - trying to prove that our failure is someone else’s fault instead of looking at ourselves objectively and addressing our shortcomings - and everyone has them, even Black people, believe it or not.<br />.<br />But someone who doesn't want to accept these truths is bound to say, "Man, you sound like a White bigot."&nbsp; Well, maybe, but there's a very good reason for that. I've learned over the years that bigots can be a very valuable resource.&nbsp; They hate Black people so much that they dig a lot deeper, and much more thoroughly, trying to find our shortcomings. So I simply let them do the work, and then I address the issues that they come up with in an objective and forthright manner. In that way, I allow their idiocy to help me to grow, and to rid myself of my glaring shortcomings.&nbsp; So the more they wolf, and the more they try to insult me, the more they extend my superiority over them.<br />.<br />So, yes, White supremacy is without a doubt a big obstacle to Black progress, but it’s far from our only obstacle. The biggest obstacle to Black progress is Black people themselves, not because we're dumb, but because we continue to make thinking a hobby instead of a way of life.</div><br /><div class="_3x-2"><div data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;H&quot;}"><div class="mtm"><div class="_6m2 _1zpr clearfix _5ej3 _dcs _4_w4 _5cwb" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;H&quot;}" id="u_jsonp_4_19"><div class="clearfix _2r3x"><div class="_42ef"><span class="_3c21"></span><br /><div class="_3ekx _29_4"><div class="_6m3 _--6"><div class="_59tj _2iau"><div><div></div></div></div></div><span class="_3c21"><a class="_52c6" data-lynx-mode="origin" data-lynx-uri="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FpIkR5oqZXnY&amp;h=ATPbYKJaOf_C-x5dtBE5_l5RwbtLP851Nwdju8XHOzTJS3UjCvhlcsvty4IZ_p2IlJe1BUc3yxzf_NYtCFp1FBGaRyJGZ-bclufbE2nHOXPygms2ACo1-MYmYdWwo9bE6X5UzzoDBdKxTEgU-5lac0tabteqMmoiiEkbTBp6G2odotpqg-y1Fak5Ij9sCnt9Ir7KnOsVurXGcXF8Czv2k85C_anMO5N7fYSdB1e5bDYstD6ZRxF3aVcJEMdEppOCUKO5thD7lIOn_anMzHUrgf5HkN7oScWgAOs" href="https://youtu.be/pIkR5oqZXnY" rel="nofollow" tabindex="-1" target="_blank"></a></span></div></div></div></div><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pIkR5oqZXnY" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br />Eric L. Wattree <br />wattree.blogspot.com <br />Ewattree@Gmail.com<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />.<br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</div></div></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/11/black-people-is-white-supremacy-really.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-7648237594650085192Fri, 17 Nov 2017 14:23:00 +00002017-11-25T15:24:43.067-08:0022nd AmendmentCalvin CoolidgeDwight EisenhowerGeorge W. BushGOPGreat DepressionHerbert HooverRepublican PartyRichard NixonRonald ReaganThe New DealThomas E. DeweyWarren G. HardingWattreeTHE REPUBLICAN RIP-OFF OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE<b><i><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree</span></u></i></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>THE REPUBLICAN RIP-OFF OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>(REPRISE)</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Here's Why Our Grandparents - Who We Referred To As "The Greatest Generation" - Wouldn't Let A Republican Anywhere Near The White House.&nbsp; </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>But The GOP Hopes That Our Generation Has Forgotten That Lesson, So They're At It Again.&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wEorrOxrdxo/VQGKsDopVOI/AAAAAAAADOw/SWmd11-s_bk/s1600/reaganomics-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wEorrOxrdxo/VQGKsDopVOI/AAAAAAAADOw/SWmd11-s_bk/s1600/reaganomics-13.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's always a bad idea for a writer to overstate his or her case or deal in hyperbole. It causes readers not to take the writer seriously, so let me choose my words carefully. The Republican Party has morphed into a fascist, bigoted, un-American, and completely inept and irresponsible threat to world peace, with a pronounced tendency toward treason even as they wrap themselves in the American flag. &nbsp;I could go on, but I want to be careful to remain "fair and balanced."&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The GOP's thoughtless, greedy and uncaring policies toward the American people have been troubling since before the Great Depression. The only thing that keeps the GOP viable is once they're voted out the public tends to forget their previous atrocities during the four to eight years they're out of office. But our grandparent's generation, the generation we refer to as the "Greatest Generation" - those who suffered through the Great Depression and fought WWII - didn't forget. They wouldn't let Republicans even go NEAR the White House. There were two reasons for that. First, back then they had a functional educational system, and secondly, they suffered so horrifically at the hands of the Republicans that they couldn't forget.&nbsp;</span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsDeKMvBT5M/U5-yhNBFUAI/AAAAAAAACQ8/ohFcV9H7_4A/s1600/Child%2BLabor.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsDeKMvBT5M/U5-yhNBFUAI/AAAAAAAACQ8/ohFcV9H7_4A/s1600/Child%2BLabor.png" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">CHILD LABOR DURING <br /> THE GREAT DEPRESSION</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">.<br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">In 1921 - eight years before the great depression - &nbsp;Republicans took over the helm of this nation for 12 years. During that time there were three Republican administrations. The first of which was the administration of Warren G. Harding. History remembers Harding's administration for one thing more than anything other - scandal. It was during Harding's presidency that the Teapot Dome Scandal erupted. His administration was considered the most corrupt administration in the history of the United States - until Nixon's, then Reagan's, and finally Bush's.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">Next, in 1923, came Calvin Coolidge, the president that Ronald Reagan is said to have most admired. Coolidge's policies of large tax cuts, allowing business a free-rein, and his encouragement of stock speculation contributed greatly to the impending stock market crash and the great depression that was to come.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">Then in 1929 Herbert Hoover came to power. During his administration the stock market crashed, starting the great depression. In spite of the fact that by 1933 the unemployment&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">rate was at 33.3% with 16 million people out of work, Hoover and his Republicans just sat, thinking that the economy would eventually rejuvenate itself. After all, they could afford to just wait it out; they weren't suffering, they could wait it out in comfort. &nbsp;But during Hoover's administration 15,000 WWI veterans marched on Washington demanding that they be paid what they were owed by the government. Hoover responded by calling in federal troops to throw these ex-servicemen off government property.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">Finally in 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a liberal Democrat, was elected overwhelmingly. He immediately surrounded himself with a group of the finest minds in the country, including Columbia professors Adolph A. Berle, Jr., Rexford G. Tugwell, and Raymond Moley, known at the time as the "Brain Trust." After assembling these men and others he went about the business of developing a" New Deal" for the working class people of this country.&nbsp;</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">The New Deal had two components - one to help the economy to recover from the effects of the great depression, and a second component to give relief to the American people and to insure that they would never be placed in a position of total destitution again. To help heal the economy Roosevelt created programs that regulated business, controlled inflation, and brought about price stabilization; to bring relief to the people he signed The National Labor Relations Act which guaranteed workers the right to collective bargaining, and he created the Social Security Administration to guarantee workers some sort of income once they became too old to work. He also signed the Fair Labor Standards Act which protected workers rights and set a minimum wage for workers. But every since the New Deal was enacted, the abolishment of every one of its programs has been the Republican Party's reason for living.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qgqIQFMDBWo/U7QS4jGWb7I/AAAAAAAACWg/pdOwDGO5wy8/s1600/Attention%2BRepublicans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qgqIQFMDBWo/U7QS4jGWb7I/AAAAAAAACWg/pdOwDGO5wy8/s1600/Attention%2BRepublicans.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">During the Great Depression there was no such thing as Social Security, so when a person became too old or weak to work they had no income so they had to depend on their children for support. That meant instead of a husband and wife only having to support themselves and their children, which was tough enough during those times, they also had to support their parents. So there was often three generations of a family in one household - and in many cases, the parents of both the husband, and wife, lived with the family.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition, there was no such thing as Medicare or Medicaid, so when one of the grandparents became ill the medical costs would devastate the entire family. These conditions kept lower and middle-class families in such dire need of funds that they had to accept whatever crumbs the business community chose to throw at them - and remember, at that time there was no Fair Labor Standards Act or unions to protect a worker’s rights or a minimum wage, so businesses could treat the worker anyway they wanted, and pay them whatever they wanted.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">They could work you 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no overtime, no paid vacation, and no sick leave, so workers had to choose between staying in bed with the flu, or feeding their families. In addition, since there was no child labor laws, if your boss didn't think you were being productive enough, he could insist that you bring your children in (as young as 9 years old) to assist you if you wanted to keep your job. Then if you protested, he could fire you on the spot, in which case, your entire family - sick grandparents and all - would be thrown out on the street, because there was no such thing as unemployment insurance.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a result, in many cases the entire family, including the children, had to work long, hard hours under sweatshop-like conditions in coal mines and the like, which in many cases led to the death and/or maiming of young children. So in a very real sense, Great Depression era workers lived under a form of slavery - the one difference was, they had to go out and find their own housing.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eoE-d7a0GaA/Wg7wehnh9KI/AAAAAAAAGBk/5HIvfnu7lmw10eG5bnSx7uG3n-tZK70ggCLcBGAs/s1600/GOP_GREAT%2BDEPRESSION%2BFAMILY.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="252" height="253" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eoE-d7a0GaA/Wg7wehnh9KI/AAAAAAAAGBk/5HIvfnu7lmw10eG5bnSx7uG3n-tZK70ggCLcBGAs/s320/GOP_GREAT%2BDEPRESSION%2BFAMILY.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Think back to the "Little Rascals" we used to watch as kids, and how ragged they were, or the cartoons we use to watch, where a landlord would come to the door (always portrayed in a black suit) and would tell a begging and crying mother that she had one more day to come up with the rent or she and her family would be thrown out in the snow. That was an accurate portrayal of the way people lived in those days, and those are the conditions that the conservative Republican agenda would restore in America today. Those are the conditions that they’re FIGHTING to restore today.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.<br style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">But by putting his "New Deal for the American people" in place, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, this "bleeding heart liberal," not only led this country out of the worst, Republican generated, crisis that this country has ever faced, but he went on to lead the free world in victory over Hitler in WWII. He then ushered in the most sustained prosperity that the world has ever known.</span>&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5aStzn4WKmw/VQGZyry6ySI/AAAAAAAADPA/Tu54cAGKNQM/s1600/GOP%2BMoron.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5aStzn4WKmw/VQGZyry6ySI/AAAAAAAADPA/Tu54cAGKNQM/s1600/GOP%2BMoron.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So the people of the "Greatest Generation" elected Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt into office an unprecedented four terms, from 1932 until he died in office in 1945. Thereafter, Republican nominee, Thomas E. Dewey, had to push for the Twenty-Second Amendment creating presidential term limits for a Republican to even get a whiff of the White House, and even then, a Republican wasn't elected until Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 - and he was only elected because he was the allied commander credited with winning WWII, and he was a Republican in name only. &nbsp;He signed the 1957 Civil Rights Act, and sent troops into Little Rock Arkansas to integrate the schools.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;In addition, as President Eisenhower's very last act of office he warned the American people of the military/industrial complex, or people like Dick Cheney and the kind of Republicans we have in office today. He described them as a threat to our democracy. Ike was nothing like the Republicans we see today. He would have summarily shot Dick Cheney had he been in office when Cheney allegedly outed CIA operative, Valarie Plame.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">So the "Greatest Generation" understood what we're only now finding out the hard way about the Republican Party due to the GOP's systematic dismantling of our information and educational systems - that their pronounced greed and lust for power has rendered them prone to being reckless, irresponsible, without limits, and a danger to our democracy. &nbsp;We've had the opportunity to see all of these malevolent characteristics in graphic detail recently in the GOP's invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu, a foreign leader, to come thumb his nose at our President before a joint session of the United States Congress - and never once did one of them tell Netanyahu, "You lie."&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The GOP also demonstrated reckless irresponsibility with the unprecedented act of &nbsp;DIRECTLY intervening in the President's nuclear arms negotiations with Iran when 47 Republican senators signed a letter to the government of Iran essentially saying, "Don't pay this guy [THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!!] any attention." That's the reckless, petty, and immature behavior of irate children who cannot be trusted with any sort of power. &nbsp;They're either too dumb to understand, or too reckless to care that this nation has ALWAYS lived by the axiom that "Politics end at the water's edge." These 47 senators are in direct violation of<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act"> <b><span style="color: blue;">the Logan Act</span></b> </a>and are guilty of treason. The Logan Act specifically state the following:<br />.<br /><i>"Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."</i></span><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></i><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the 1936 Supreme Court case United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. Justice Sutherland wrote in the majority opinion that:</span><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"[T]he President alone has the power to speak or listen as a representative of the nation. He makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate; but he alone negotiates. Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it."<br />.</span></i><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a 1793 letter from Thomas Jefferson to Edmond Charles Genet, Jefferson points out the following:</span><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></i><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"He [the President of the United States] being the only channel of communication between this country and foreign nations, it is from him alone that foreign nations or their agents are to learn what is or has been the will of the nation; and whatever he communicates as such, they have a right, and are bound to consider as the expression of the nation, and no foreign agent can be allowed to question it, to interpose between him and any other branch of Government, under the pretext of either’s transgressing their functions, nor to make himself the umpire and final judge between them."</i><br /><i>.</i><br />So to have 46 senior Republican senators to follow the lead of a freshman senator - who's only been in the senate for a matter of weeks - in violating tradition, protocol, and Constitutional law, betrays a level of recklessness, lack of statesmanship, ignorance, and pure stupidity, that's astounding! &nbsp;Yet these very same people claim that we should give them the power to run the nation!!!? &nbsp;The American people would have to be complete idiots. &nbsp;</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So again, because it can't be repeated often enough, the GOP has clearly demonstrated that they are much too petty and dangerously irresponsible to be trusted with power. When they're in the minority they pout, throw tantrums, and leave no stone unturned to obstruct democracy when they can't get their way, and when they're in power they act with the reckless abandon of ravenously deprived children turned loose in an all-you-can-eat chocolate factory. &nbsp;But unfortunately, it's always America who ends up with the belly ache.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The closest&nbsp;the GOP has&nbsp;come to dismantling the New Deal started during the Reagan administration with Supply-Side Economics, or, "Reaganomics" - and the battle is currently raging in Washington D.C. as we speak.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OnZmf6GzjC4/U046syg1FgI/AAAAAAAACCE/IfvjM7Rhwec/s1600/Greed%252C+Eating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OnZmf6GzjC4/U046syg1FgI/AAAAAAAACCE/IfvjM7Rhwec/s1600/Greed%252C+Eating.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Supply- Side Economics was a scheme hatch by U.S.C. economist Arthur Laffer and the Reagan crowd which was supposed to cut the deficit and balance the budget. The theory behind Reaganomics was ostensibly, if you cut taxes for business and people in the upper tax brackets, and then deregulated business of such nuisances as safety regulations and environmental safeguards, the beneficiaries would invest their savings into creating new jobs. In that way the money would eventually "trickle down" to the rest of us. The resulting broadened tax base would then not only help to bring down the deficit, but also subsidize the tremendously high defense budget. It's exactly the same plan the Republicans in congress are pushing today. But when the plan was first floated, even George Bush Sr., Reagan's vice president to be, called it "voodoo economics."</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Reaganomics, for the most part, sought to undo many of the safeguards put into place during the Roosevelt era and create a business environment similar to that which was in place during the Coolidge Administration - which led directly to the Great Depression. And as we saw in 1987 under Reagan, and the 2008 Wall Street meltdown, these Republican policies led to the very same result.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Under Reagan, instead of taking the money and investing it into creating new jobs as the American people were promised, the money was used in wild schemes and stock market speculation. One of these schemes, the leveraged buy-out, involved buying up large companies with borrowed funds secured by the company's assets, then paying off the loan by selling off the assets of the purchased company. This practice cost the citizens of this country its industrial base. In addition, the bottom fell out of the stock market. On Monday, October 19, 1987 the Dow-Jones Average fell 508.32 points. It was the greatest one-day decline since 1914 - 15 years before the Great Depression.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NuufTom4vjM/U7QSMwGbvJI/AAAAAAAACWU/73_YbGrAODk/s1600/Reagan,+Debt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NuufTom4vjM/U7QSMwGbvJI/AAAAAAAACWU/73_YbGrAODk/s1600/Reagan,+Debt.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">And what about Ronald Reagan's promise to balance the budget and lower the deficit? By the time he left office he was not only the most prolific spender of any president in history, but he added more to the deficit than all of the other presidents from George Washington to his own administration COMBINED. And what did the Republican Party propose to do about that? One of the Republican proposals was their "contract with America," a capitol gains tax cut - for the rich.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then in 1988 Silverado Savings and Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $1.3 billion. It was headed by Neil Bush, brother of George W. Bush.&nbsp; The investigation alleged that he was guilty of "breaches of his fiduciary duties involving multiple conflicts of interest." The issue was eventually settled out of court with Bush paying a mere $50,000 settlement.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then there was the Lincoln Savings and loan scandal in 1987, involving John McCain. The scandal was very similar to the one that&nbsp;played out&nbsp;on Wall Street in 2008.&nbsp;McCain was one of a group of senators dubbed "The Keating Five" involved in a scandal by the same name.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nQO6vGFpcrA/U8a-ippzOWI/AAAAAAAACcM/bIXLsNyn-_s/s1600/True+Patriots.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nQO6vGFpcrA/U8a-ippzOWI/AAAAAAAACcM/bIXLsNyn-_s/s1600/True+Patriots.png" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 1976 Charles Keating moved to Arizona to run the American Continental Corporation. In 1984, shortly after the Reagan era push to deregulate the savings and loan community, Keating bought Lincoln Savings and Loan and began to engage in highly risky investments with the depositors' savings. In 1989 the parent company, which Keating headed, went bankrupt, and it resulted in over 21,000 investors losing their life savings. Most of the investors were elderly, and the loss amounted to about 285 million dollars.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">After having received over a million dollars from Keating in illegal campaign contributions, gifts, free trips, and other gratuities, the Keating Five - Senators John Glenn, Don Riegle, Dennis DeConini, Alan Cranston, and Sen. John McCain - attempted to intervene in the investigation into Keating's activities by the regulators. Later, they were admonished to varying degrees by the senate for attempting to influence regulators on Keating's behalf. Charles Keating ended up being convicted for fraud, racketeering and conspiracy, for which he received 10 years by the state court, and a 12 year sentence in federal court. After spending four and a half years in prison, his convictions were overturned. But prior to being retried, he pled guilty to a number of felonies in return for a sentence of time served.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then came the George W. Bush administration that caused close to a million people to die uselessly in an illegal war in Iraq, robbed the American people blind, whose fumbling ignited the longest war in American history in Afghanistan, and whose greed came very close to sending the nation into yet another depression.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">﻿</span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1uOciAvW-nQ/U9pHJW1ExEI/AAAAAAAACdU/bgJnQIlRA_w/s1600/GOP+MEMO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1uOciAvW-nQ/U9pHJW1ExEI/AAAAAAAACdU/bgJnQIlRA_w/s1600/GOP+MEMO.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">Now, after all of their repeated efforts to deplete the national treasury, they're unanimously voting against every piece of legislation that the Democrats propose to repair the damage they created and bring relief to the American people. Then they have the audacity to claim that they're doing it because they're concerned about deficit spending.&nbsp;</span><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">They're against affordable health care for American families; they're against any kind of spending to put Americans back to work, and they're against extending unemployment insurance to relieve the burden of America's unemployed. What's particularly telling, however, is they're also against any kind of strong legislation to prevent the financial community (them) from being able to rob the American people in the future.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also interesting, considering their deep "concern" over the national debt, is the estimated $4 trillion Bush tax cut for the rich. According to the&nbsp;<i>Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,&nbsp;</i>"Considering&nbsp; both the direct costs of the tax cuts and the associated increase in interest payments, the tax cuts would increase deficits by nearly $4 trillion between 2005 and 2014."</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&amp;id=1811</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3MduCHoSVYc/U7gIfCtrcUI/AAAAAAAACX4/-pqBEUkBwP4/s1600/GOP+Vote+Against+Vet+Jobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3MduCHoSVYc/U7gIfCtrcUI/AAAAAAAACX4/-pqBEUkBwP4/s1600/GOP+Vote+Against+Vet+Jobs.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So the fact is, what they really wanted prior to the 2012 election was to maintain the status quo, and make sure that the American people remained miserable, hungry, and divided until the elections so they'd have a better chance to regain power and raid the treasury again. Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, was frustrated and reckless enough to say it out loud - "Our No. 1 priority is to make this president a one-term president" - not to save America, or to bring relief to the American people, but to make Barack Obama a one-term president. Flag pens in lapels and patriotic rhetoric notwithstanding, that says it all about the GOP's lack of concern for America, or the American people.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">After they lost the 2012 election, the Republican agenda shifted to making sure that President Obama was not successful, which is politispeak for making sure the American people continued to suffer. &nbsp;The rationale behind their agenda is, if they allow President Obama to bring relief to the American people, and then you combine that combine that with the rapidly changing demographic, that could spell doom for the future of the GOP - and it should, because they're grossly out of touch with reality, and, America's best interest. That's why that's why the GOP is out to create a corporate feudalist society as soon as possible. They see time as running out on them, and that's what makes them so dangerous.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JS6rspT3U5c/U7LVB2gcXDI/AAAAAAAACVQ/D88K0ZchXXM/s1600/financial_wealth_pie_chart_v_2_0_0_580px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JS6rspT3U5c/U7LVB2gcXDI/AAAAAAAACVQ/D88K0ZchXXM/s1600/financial_wealth_pie_chart_v_2_0_0_580px.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" width="262" /></span></a><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Middle Class Slide Since the Reagan Administration</span></strong></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">"In 1982, Forbes magazine began its now much-read annual list of America’s richest men and women. At the time of the first list, there were 12 billionaires in the country and fewer than 200,000 millionaires. By the year 2000, there were nearly 300 billionaires and about 5 million millionaires. Smith’s account of the rise of the rich and super-rich tells the story of five types of individuals: entrepreneurs, dealmakers, investors, tycoons (corporate executives, who are distinguished from</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">entrepreneurs), and entertainers."</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿</span><a href="http://www.beardbooks.com/beardbooks/the_rise_of_todays_rich_and_super_rich.html" style="background-color: white; color: #776644; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-decoration: none;"><u><span style="color: blue;">http://www.beardbooks.com/beardbooks/the_rise_of_todays_rich_and_super_rich.html</span></u></a></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">﻿﻿"No matter how you slice it, when it comes to income and wealth in America the rich get most of the pie and the rest get the leftovers. The numbers are shocking. Today the top 1 percent of Americans control 43 percent of the financial wealth (see the pie chart below) while the bottom 80 percent control only 7 percent of the wealth. Incredibly, the wealthiest 400 Americans have the same combined wealth as the poorest half of Americans — over 150 million people.".</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy" style="background-color: white; color: #776644; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">A recent Princeton study Shows that America is no longer a democracy.</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">&nbsp;We are now an Oligarchy, controlled by the rich. So it is essential that we wake up. Racism is no longer the war; racism is now merely a TOOL of war. We are now knee-deep in a CLASS WAR, and the American people are losing badly - ALL of the American people.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L6wfuE60ia8/U73rLxFdbpI/AAAAAAAACZ0/712_kBXgNi4/s1600/Consumer+Demand.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L6wfuE60ia8/U73rLxFdbpI/AAAAAAAACZ0/712_kBXgNi4/s1600/Consumer+Demand.gif" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">Here’s the game that we're allowing the corporatists to&nbsp;run on us.&nbsp;They’ve convinced America that if we give the rich enough money, they’ll use that money to create jobs for the poor and middle class. Now, I don’t claim to be an intellectual giant, but it doesn’t take a great mind to understand that demand fuels supply, not the reverse.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">If I made my living selling Gucci Bags, for example, I don’t care how much money you give me, I’m not going to hire anyone to produce any&nbsp;more Gucci Bags than I have in stock if I'm being forced to sell those bags&nbsp;in a homeless shelter. It wouldn’t make sense, because in a homeless shelter&nbsp;no one&nbsp;would have&nbsp;the money to purchase my product. The only way that&nbsp;you’re going to get me to hire people to produce Gucci Bags is if you gave that money to the people in the shelter so they’d have the money to buy my merchandise.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SwmGVHTiRjk/U7No_-eWLDI/AAAAAAAACVc/cEuoYrFvnh8/s1600/Corporations,+Holy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SwmGVHTiRjk/U7No_-eWLDI/AAAAAAAACVc/cEuoYrFvnh8/s1600/Corporations,+Holy.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">That's exactly what's happening in America today. Corporate profits are at record highs, and the information and charts above clearly show that corporations and corporate executives are currently making more money than they've ever dreamed of in the past. So there's no reason for high unemployment. The rich are not putting that money&nbsp;into creating jobs; that money is going into offshore accounts, and we never see it again. That's why the rich are getting so much richer, and the middle class so much poorer.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">On the other hand, if the Republican congress would allow President Obama to create jobs to repair American's infrastructure - repair bridges, dams, and interstate highways and the like - that money would create jobs, just like it did when it brought us out of the Great Depression. Then, Americans would have money to spend on goods and services.&nbsp;They would go on vacations,&nbsp;so hotels and&nbsp;restaurants would have to hire people to accommodate them, and the food industry would have to hire people to process and serve their food. They would also buy bicycles and toys for their children, and that would create jobs, and they would buy more clothing, gas, and make needed repairs to their homes, and that would create jobs. And as a result of all those jobs being created, more revenue would come into the government in taxes, which would allow us to pay down the national debt.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6VzTzlKPHQ4/Wg8IRP6RBkI/AAAAAAAAGB0/geTdRwtF85EEm1T9Akfb1HZZ5kicQ9jjgCLcBGAs/s1600/Republicans%2BTry%2BTo%2BHurt%2BThe%2BPoor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6VzTzlKPHQ4/Wg8IRP6RBkI/AAAAAAAAGB0/geTdRwtF85EEm1T9Akfb1HZZ5kicQ9jjgCLcBGAs/s320/Republicans%2BTry%2BTo%2BHurt%2BThe%2BPoor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">Again, think about it - the business community is making more profits than they've ever made in their history, so there's no logical reason for unemployment in America to be so high. The reason that unemployment is so high is because it's being kept high on purpose.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">Consider this. In the sixties, Howard Hughes was famous for being one of the richest men in the world.&nbsp; He was considered so incredibly rich that they made movies about him.&nbsp;But compared to today's billionaires, he'd qualify for food stamps. Howard Hughes only had $4 billion, but today, Bill Gates has $79.1 billion, David Koch, of the infamous Koch brothers has $41.3 Billion, and even the young man, Mark Zuckerberg of&nbsp;Facebook, has $29.9 billion.&nbsp; So there is absolutely no reason for&nbsp;the American people to be suffering so severely, and for unemployment to be so high - yet, they have us hating and pointing the finger at one another as the cause of our misery, when as pointed out above, the wealthiest 400 Americans have&nbsp;as much combined wealth as the 150 million&nbsp;poorest half of Americans.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">So it doesn't take a brain surgeon to see where the wealth of middle-class America has gone. It hasn't gone to "illegal aliens," or people requiring food stamps. Corporate welfare is&nbsp;nearly double the cost of all social programs.&nbsp;About&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hud/public-housing-and-rental-subsidies" style="background-color: white; color: #776644; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">$59</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">&nbsp;billion is spent on traditional social welfare programs.&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8230" style="background-color: white; color: #776644; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">$92</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">&nbsp;billion is spent on corporate subsidies. So, the government spent nearly 50% more on corporate welfare than it did on food stamps and housing assistance in 2006. &nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">http://thinkbynumbers.org/government-spending/corporate-welfare/corporate-welfare-statistics-vs-social-welfare-statistics/</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8000011444092px; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HHv_2vX9isE/VQJPXsIfaHI/AAAAAAAADPk/3DmLzxga22I/s1600/GOP%2BFiscal%2BIrresponsibility.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HHv_2vX9isE/VQJPXsIfaHI/AAAAAAAADPk/3DmLzxga22I/s1600/GOP%2BFiscal%2BIrresponsibility.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">The GOP's supposed concern for the national debt is only a pretext to block spending and keep unemployment high.&nbsp;They are purposely trying to&nbsp;turn America&nbsp;into&nbsp;a homeless shelter,&nbsp;because the GOP and its corporate cronies have&nbsp;a vested interest in keeping&nbsp;us angry, miserable, and divided.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">The GOP's motive is political - by keeping unemployment high and the American people miserable, it makes Obama and the Democrats look bad,&nbsp;and they're hoping that the resulting anger and division&nbsp;in the country will help them to get elected in a demographic that's shrinking to the GOP's&nbsp;disadvantage. And the corporatist are trying to squeeze the middle class. They’re trying to lower the American middle class standard of living to a level that conforms to the other countries in the global economy, where in many countries people make less&nbsp;per&nbsp;week than some middle-class Americans spend on lunch&nbsp;per day.&nbsp;So they're trying to squeeze the middle class to the point that it lowers our expectations, and&nbsp;we'll feel grateful for less.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.8000011444092px;">Their ultimate agenda is to turn America into a corporate feudalist state, where the American people are totally dependent on corporations for their survival. That will greatly enhance corporate profits, and essentially, allow them to control this nation.&nbsp;That's why the GOP is attacking unions, our educational system, and all social programs that prevent us from being totally reliant on the business community. They want to have complete control over our lives.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TZewPBwSp9M/VQGawe-qeXI/AAAAAAAADPQ/BcHv7gPf4mw/s1600/Corporatists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TZewPBwSp9M/VQGawe-qeXI/AAAAAAAADPQ/BcHv7gPf4mw/s1600/Corporatists.jpg" width="347" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">GOP politicians just tend to lack common sense. Republican President Richard M. Nixon lacked the common sense to recognize that the President of the United States should not become an accessory to a common, street-level burglary, or place American citizens on an "Enemies List." Republican President Ronald Reagan lacked the common sense to realize that it was inappropriate to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Surprise_conspiracy_theory"><b><span style="color: blue;">commit the treasonous act</span> </b></a>of going behind President Jimmy Carter's back and making a deal with a foreign enemy that was holding American citizens hostage to continue to hold those citizens hostage for political gain. Reagan also lacked the common sense to realize that it was inappropriate to flood America's inner cities with crack cocaine in order to finance his illegal war in Nicarauga. It was ruthless, immoral, and unconscionable, in spite of Nancy Reagan's warning to Black children to "Just say no." Republican President George W. Bush lacked the common sense to recognize that it was inappropriate to lie the nation into a multi-trillion dollar war with Iraq, killing over a million Iraqi citizens, and killing or wounding thousands of American troops for political gain and the enrichment of Dick Cheney's Halliburton Corp. &nbsp;And Dick Cheney lacked the common sense to recognize that it was an act of treason to reveal the identity of an American CIA agent for spite, and that Americans don't engage in torture. &nbsp;Thus, the Republican Party is turning America into an ugly place. &nbsp;They're making America itself, un-American.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Republican politicians and their cronies have a long history of pettiness, greed, &nbsp;poor judgment, and a tendency to continually drag America down a rat hole to satisfy their selfish lust for wealth and power. &nbsp;Thus, America needs to wake up and see these people for who they are, because 2016 is going to be a pivotal election. If the Republicans win they know that the demographics are against them, so they'll never relinquish power again - regardless to WHAT they have to do. &nbsp;Think about the ramifications of that. <br />.<br />And if you're a White social conservative who takes comfort in those ramifications, don't, because the rich, fiscal conservatives, don't care any more about poor and middle class White people than they do Muslims, minorities, or gays. You're only being used to keep the working class divided, because the GOP's agenda is so toxic to the American people that their very viability is completely dependent upon maintaining hatred, animosity, and strife among the poor and middle class. So if they win, looking into your dumb faces is going to be the only thing gratifying&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">about it.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8Rzim8LDUBQ/VQKXKxhtulI/AAAAAAAADP0/SM-aU65Rt5s/s1600/Angry%2BIdiot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8Rzim8LDUBQ/VQKXKxhtulI/AAAAAAAADP0/SM-aU65Rt5s/s1600/Angry%2BIdiot.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K1S_Pxw2n-U" width="560"></iframe><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eric L. Wattree&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Http://wattree.blogspot.com</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-republican-partys-treasonous-and-un.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-4257120570954499505Tue, 14 Nov 2017 15:00:00 +00002017-11-15T08:49:23.177-08:00American ValuesBarry GoldwaterColin KaepernickConservatismHypocrisyNFL ProtestReligious RightRobert CoyWattreePORTRAIT OF A RIGHT-WING CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u>Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</u></i></b></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>PORTRAIT OF A RIGHT-WING CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN</b></span><br /><b>. <br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WestTexasHispanicsAgainstTrump/videos/1951954771733447/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">IF GOD LET PEOPLE LIKE THIS INTO HEAVEN, IT WOULDN'T BE HEAVEN, IT WOULD BE HELL.</span></a><br />.&nbsp;</b></div><div align="center"><b>This is exactly why I restrict my spirituality to a love of God, and keep all of man’s religious Voodoo all the way out of my life.&nbsp; Religion is the root cause of 99% of all of the hatred, bigotry, murder, and mayhem in the world - “My god is better than your God, and he only loves people who look, think, and act like me.”</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>One sister who commented on the above video completely missed the gross bigotry and religious hypocrisy in it and focused exclusively on the bigot’s property rights, and as many of us tend to do, blamed the victim, and said that the video wouldn’t change a thing - as if sitting on her ass would.&nbsp; This is my response:</b></i><b></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0dEClNF7F4/WgsEu8FQ67I/AAAAAAAAF_Y/4SrnjdAI_bExDslWg3nm8BRPlgPjRvOcwCLcBGAs/s1600/KAEPERNICK_ROSA%2BPARKS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="639" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0dEClNF7F4/WgsEu8FQ67I/AAAAAAAAF_Y/4SrnjdAI_bExDslWg3nm8BRPlgPjRvOcwCLcBGAs/s320/KAEPERNICK_ROSA%2BPARKS.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">“Kim, the sister's video was not for the benefit of the bigot, it was to educate people like yourself who take the position that we should just ignore this kind of behavior for another 400 years. Your attitude serves to both accommodate, and validate, the disrespect and abuse of Black people. This bigot thinks his behavior is just between himself and this sister, but she made sure that it wasn't.&nbsp; He may have friends, neighbors, and business associates who will see the video on social media and not appreciate it at all. He may be ostracized by many people whose faces he's grinnin' into every day, and that works for me. How do you know that he doesn't own a business that's dependent upon Black customers? This video wouldn't bode well for either him, or his business. And he's supposed to be a Christian, what is his fellow church members going to think?&nbsp; Even though they may be just like him, at least they have sense enough to maintain the Christian façade.<br />. <br />“So Black people have got to learn to stop just sittin' on our asses and sayin', ‘Oh well, that's just the way it is.’ Yeah, that’s the way it is, because that’s the way we allow it to be.&nbsp; We've got to learn to fight back - but with intelligence, and that's EXACTLY what I intend to do. As we speak, I'm writing an article using this video as a weapon against Trump and his fellow right-wing bigots. While it may not change the way THEY think, it may very well change the way other people think about THEM. <br />.<br />“There are many White people who don't want to be portrayed in this way, just like we don't want to be portrayed as lazy pimps, thugs, and dope fiends, so this very video may cross their minds when they're in the voting booth and have an impact on the way they vote. So I wish ALL Black people would flood the social media with this kind of content, drag people out of their delusions, and help them to see America through our eyes, without all of the whitewash and self-serving spin. American bigots have a vested interest in keeping things like this under wraps in order to maintain the farce that America is ‘A shining light on the hill.’&nbsp; But videos like this one clearly demonstrates that the only thing great about America is its public relations office, but we do have enough well-meaning people in this country, who really do want America to be great, to change that.<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCKFdJQOgOw/WgsNjGLlTfI/AAAAAAAAF_o/i_cJv1AXksAXappVGXjOI-vshTh4HDweQCLcBGAs/s1600/American%2BLynchings2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCKFdJQOgOw/WgsNjGLlTfI/AAAAAAAAF_o/i_cJv1AXksAXappVGXjOI-vshTh4HDweQCLcBGAs/s1600/American%2BLynchings2.jpg" /></a></div>“And another thing, Kim, if you look at the video you'll notice that she was no longer at his door. She was on her way off this man's property and he followed her running his mouth. And you asked what did she get by placing her life on the line. She got this video that we can display to the world as an example of American bigotry and hypocrisy. Don't forget, there are many White folks who claim that racism is a thing of the past - and they believe that, just because it's now considered bad form to lynch Black people in the public square. This video will help to show them that they're living in a fantasy.<br />.<br />“But what's amazing to me, Kim, is how casually you're taking this example of blatant racism.&nbsp; I was so curious about that, that I went to check your profile. Thereafter, everything began to come into focus.&nbsp; You're from Little Rock, Arkansas, so maybe bigotry is so common there that it's just a way of life for you. But Black people from the North don't look at blatant racism in the the way that you do. It's not a way of life for us. What we see in this video is a racist bigot, and a sister standing up and confronting him. We don't see a scared-ass "nigga" who don't have sense enough to run for her life. Most of us were raised to stand firm when confronting a bigot, just like this courageous sister did - and if YOU and your family are ever ALLOWED to "overcome," it's gonna be due to the actions of Black people just like this sister, not from scared-ass "niggas" trying to blame the victim just because she didn't haul ass the minute some old ass bigot raised his voice at her. This sister didn't do a thing wrong, she simply knocked on this bigot's door - which had a huge "JESUS" sign on it - and she probably had a Bible in her hand. <br />.<br />“And finally, did you know that many Southern ministers told Martin Luther King the very same thing that you're saying, and criticized Rosa Parks for not giving up her seat on the bus? They accused them of stirring up "unnecessary trouble." Thus, bigots depend on the attitudes of people just like you to keep Black people on their asses, and 'in their place.'<br />.<br />“This courageous sister obtained one of the best case-closed examples of White hypocrisy that I've EVER seen - a blatant bigot, <i>being</i> a blatant bigot, with a huge ‘JESUS’ sign on his door.&nbsp; So she performed a public service. I'm just glad it was her on the scene instead of you, because you would have just hauled ass. Then all we would have had to rely on regarding the incident would have been your word, instead of the solid evidence that this sister provided - and nobody would have taken your word for this, because it’s next to impossible to believe that anybody, even an ignorant bigot, would be stupid enough to indulge in that kind of hypocrisy with an oversized "Jesus” sign on his front door.</div>.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">THE ‘RELIGIOUS’ RIGHT LIVING THEIR TRUE FAITH -</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">THEIR FAITH IN ROY MOORE, A BIGOT AND CHILD MOLESTER</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b></b>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ShBlTQGgjhc/WgsCZcaV5aI/AAAAAAAAF_M/fsXcUhKz29U7cW0LRH_TGbWhjp9HqrMPwCLcBGAs/s1600/GOP_SUPPORTS%2BCHILD%2BMOLESTER%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="236" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ShBlTQGgjhc/WgsCZcaV5aI/AAAAAAAAF_M/fsXcUhKz29U7cW0LRH_TGbWhjp9HqrMPwCLcBGAs/s400/GOP_SUPPORTS%2BCHILD%2BMOLESTER%2B.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OcWztDOK694/WgsdhzS0xHI/AAAAAAAAF_8/_U0VbzvJuBwVr68WNmlS3gHPrFJM2s2QQCEwYBhgL/s640/ROY%2BMOORE%2527S%2B14%2BYEAR-OLD%2BVICTIM.jpg" width="640" /></div><b><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span> </b> <b><span style="color: purple;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/alabama-locals-say-roy-moore-was-banned-mall-harassing-teen-girls#.WgsEgGh9FSE.facebook ." target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Alabama Locals Say Roy Moore Was Banned from Mall for Harassing Teen Girls</span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: red;"><u>&nbsp;</u></span></span></span></span></b><br /><b><span style="color: #005500; font-size: large;">.</span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8YfGUTANtvc/Wgxtj5UcTOI/AAAAAAAAGA4/gEtGFCEX8yg4Iht41A_RvWYoFlzAp5MyQCLcBGAs/s400/CHRISTIAN%2BSUPPORT%2BOF%2BROY%2BMOORE.jpg" width="381" /><b><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">.</span></b></div><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article184564528.html" target="_blank"><b>Founder of Florida’s Biggest Megachurch Accused of Molesting a 4 Year-Old Girl</b></a></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aj3-tPKFr8A/Wgwg66sW7uI/AAAAAAAAGAo/BAYn07dnIB0iwwd-2wuQICymJ-rMxh2zwCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIAN_PASTOR%2BROBERT%2BCOY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="background-color: red; color: red; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1140" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aj3-tPKFr8A/Wgwg66sW7uI/AAAAAAAAGAo/BAYn07dnIB0iwwd-2wuQICymJ-rMxh2zwCLcBGAs/s400/CHRISTIAN_PASTOR%2BROBERT%2BCOY.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></span></b></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><h3 class="title"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></h3><div style="color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 10pt sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article184564528.html" target="_blank"><br />Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article184564528.html#storylink=cpy</a></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">THIS IS THE KIND OF "GOD-FEARING" HYPOCRISY THAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM THE "RELIGIOUS" RIGHT</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WBsYSaRT9Fo/Wgs08MbAZrI/AAAAAAAAGAI/ZvI30rfhALQqdrpuVh3aVoUzVrvy9hHngCLcBGAs/s1600/CHRISTIANITY_BARRY%2BGOLDWATER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WBsYSaRT9Fo/Wgs08MbAZrI/AAAAAAAAGAI/ZvI30rfhALQqdrpuVh3aVoUzVrvy9hHngCLcBGAs/s400/CHRISTIANITY_BARRY%2BGOLDWATER.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></b></div>.<br />Eric L. Wattree <br />Wattree.blogspot.com <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102#!/group.php?gid=135558926476509" target="_blank">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</a></span><b></b><br />Ewattree@Gmail.com <br />.<br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/11/portrait-of-right-wing-conservative.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-6799996791504249978Tue, 24 Oct 2017 04:02:00 +00002017-11-10T19:22:52.602-08:00BigotsBlack Family Most Brilliant In UKBlack peopleConservativesFalse PatriotsJim CrowKnowledgeObamaSoulThe Imafidon FamilyWattreeBLACK PEOPLE: LET US MAKE KNOWLEDGE THE NEW 'SOUL'<div style="text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></u></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>BLACK PEOPLE: LET US MAKE KNOWLEDGE THE NEW 'SOUL'</b></span></div><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3_Fk2HR7YJs/We60iZeYScI/AAAAAAAAF6Q/zNuRV5xY4SkxQ3Le-R9x-D2kqU7bUSVfwCLcBGAs/s1600/Black%2BDoctors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3_Fk2HR7YJs/We60iZeYScI/AAAAAAAAF6Q/zNuRV5xY4SkxQ3Le-R9x-D2kqU7bUSVfwCLcBGAs/s400/Black%2BDoctors.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">NEW BLACK DOCTORS</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>The current NFL controversy clearly demonstrates that far too many White people can't get past the idea that they have a RIGHT to control Black people, and Black people have helped to promote that attitude by our behavior, because far too many of us have a hostility toward knowledge.&nbsp; <br />.<br />Too many of us believe that the serious pursuit of knowledge is a “White thang,” and the role of Black people is to simply be cute, cool, and have 'soul'.&nbsp; So on those occasions when we do decide to demonstrate our ability to think, some White people, like Trump, assume they can just slap us on the&nbsp;wrist &nbsp;and tell us to go sit in the corner and shut up.&nbsp; <br />.<br />The problem is, as a direct result of our conditioning during slavery, many of us feel that Black people have a moral obligation to remain ignorant and intellectually remote in order to prove that we take pride in being Black. That attitude, held by many Blacks, causes a hostility toward other Blacks who take learning and knowledge seriously, because they’re perceived as “selling out,” or “trying to be White.”&nbsp; That, in turn,&nbsp; causes many brilliant young Black people to shun the pursuit of knowledge, and/or even HIDE their intellect, and that's become a vicious cycle that's led to Black people not being taken seriously.&nbsp; <br />.<br />As a result, many in this society perceived Black people as being nothing more than a mindless group of children with rhythm. That causes some White people to believe that they are the adults in the room, and they have an <i>OBLIGATION</i> to tell Black people how to think and behave in order to prevent us from destroying <i>THEIR</i> great national values. These people&nbsp;lack the insight, however,&nbsp;to recognize that what they're so desperately defending as their "national values" are nothing more than a collection of myths, and a bowl of fried ice cream that they've been brainwashed into believing in the first place.&nbsp; <br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-76h5bzs5T4w/WfdSDCXjqDI/AAAAAAAAF90/xPm7isJdCQsqK4srtefq8C60jyOq92vuwCLcBGAs/s1600/KAEPERNICK_ROSA%2BPARKS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="639" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-76h5bzs5T4w/WfdSDCXjqDI/AAAAAAAAF90/xPm7isJdCQsqK4srtefq8C60jyOq92vuwCLcBGAs/s320/KAEPERNICK_ROSA%2BPARKS.jpg" width="314" /></a></div>For example, how can you disrespect the flag by taking a knee, when the flag itself is a symbol of the right to free expression? You can't. The flag SUPPORTS the demand for justice. So those who want to DENY that right are the ones who are being un-American and disrespectful of the flag.&nbsp; But these so-called "patriots" lack the intellectual insight to see that, because they lack a grasp of syllogistic logic.&nbsp; For them, logical thought goes something like this - "All dogs have fleas, and my cat has fleas; therefore, my cat is a dog." So from their illogical point of view, anything that they disagree with is seen as un-American, just by virtue of the fact that they disagree with it. That's what allows them to get all up-in-arms over disrespecting a piece of cloth as unpatriotic, yet, not have a word to say about Trump - a draft dodger - disrespecting the widow of a soldier who's given up his life for this country.&nbsp; So it's all a matter of gross hypocrisy, and an attempt to force Black athletes to salute White supremacy and become compliant wimps to the so-called 'patriots'' conservative point of view. If you listen carefully, they actually say it! - "We've made you millionaires, so how dare you worry about our killing a few worthless coons on the street!!!?"<br />.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GYwFPFfV4e8/We81FGC4r3I/AAAAAAAAF60/sR0Po2Lwfo8OUyEoCZHS4jT6fWGCSYtogCLcBGAs/s1600/Obama_Teenager.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="271" height="219" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GYwFPFfV4e8/We81FGC4r3I/AAAAAAAAF60/sR0Po2Lwfo8OUyEoCZHS4jT6fWGCSYtogCLcBGAs/s320/Obama_Teenager.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS<br />YOUNG BROTHER WOULD BECOME ONE OF OUR<br />GREATEST PRESIDENTS?</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>But these Black athletes (at least, those who are Black conscious) see right through that, because another thing that many White people fail to understand is, contrary to popular belief,&nbsp; Black people tend to be quite brilliant - in fact, they are much more intelligent than many of them are - and it is precisely that intelligence that has allowed them to survive in this uniquely hostile environment. <br />.<br />The adversity that Black people have been forced to endure in this racist society has served to make them MORE, rather than less.&nbsp; Because having to deal with racism, both overt and covert, every single day of their lives, from the time they wake up in the morning until they close their eyes at night, is like going to the gym every day.&nbsp; It has caused Black people to develop an intellectual muscularity that most of us simply take for granted.&nbsp; Most Black people assume that everyone has their intellect and perception, but everyone doesn't have it.&nbsp; So Black people must learn to appreciate their unique insight and ability to think rather than shun it, and learn to utilize their intellectual muscularity in order to move forward, rather than hide it.&nbsp; Having a keen intellect is nothing to be ashamed of, and it certainly doesn't make you less Black. Was Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, or Frederick Douglass less Black?<br />.<br />Recognizing that fact is the only difference between Barack Obama and the brothers hanging out on the block - and let there be no doubt about it, Barack was one of them, in every way, right down to getting his head bad - he's high in the photo above, look at his eyes.&nbsp; Yes, Obama is special, but he's not unique among Black people. There are tens of&nbsp;<i>THOUSANDS </i>of Barack Obamas in the Black community.&nbsp; It's just a matter of what the community rewards - do these young people get more immediate recognition from the community for learning to think, or for shooting a jump shot; for trying to become Barack Obama, or for struttin' around trying to rap like Snoop Dogg?&nbsp; These are the issues that are serving to define the Black community.<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RckChmeMic0/WfXrxQEht-I/AAAAAAAAF8Y/znWp4WA9I10qZONF1HLVfDN9Y-xujgF3QCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BEXCELLENCE.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RckChmeMic0/WfXrxQEht-I/AAAAAAAAF8Y/znWp4WA9I10qZONF1HLVfDN9Y-xujgF3QCLcBGAs/s1600/BLACK%2BEXCELLENCE.png" /></a></div>The very same creativity that led to the development of Charlie Parker, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, and Aretha Franklin can also be applied to math, science, engineering, and social development. The only thing Black people have to do is want it, focus upon it, and refrain from defining the very womb of our culture as “bitches” and “hoes,” because we <i>ARE</i> what we think.<br />.<br />And the social engineers within this White supremacist society know that; that’s why they pay a handful of Black idiots handsomely to negatively profile the Black community, lead our young people astray, and drag our image through the mud - and as a direct result of how well they carry out their assignment, rogue cops are allowed to shoot our children down in the street like dogs with complete impunity.&nbsp; Yet, we continue to flock to the movies and music venues to support these ignorant turncoats in huge numbers. We've got to stop that.&nbsp; We've got to start focusing on excellence instead of ignorance, because ignorance is neither cute, nor cool, and it's, literally, killing us. Look at the video below - the vocabulary, the message, and the mindset.&nbsp; This is the kind of thing that makes rogue cops think they can eradicate us like rodents.&nbsp; No, it's still not right, but nevertheless, we're giving them a helping hand.<br />.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pIkR5oqZXnY" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br />What we call 'soul' is creativity, and creativity is intelligence. So the only reason that Black people seem to have so much 'soul' but our special abilities seem to lean primarily toward music, dance, and the arts, is that was the only areas in which we were allowed to freely engage during and after slavery. The White man recognized the intellectual capacity of Black people early during slavery, so after the Civil War his number one priority was to contain the Black intellect. That’s what 'Jim Crow' was all about, holding the Black man down - or, “keeping him in his place.”&nbsp; That’s also why Barack Obama was, and is, hated so intensely by White conservatives, because he clearly demonstrated the latent potential of excellence that lies dormant within the&nbsp;Black community. Barack Obama took on the entire Republican Party single-handedly, and saved the world from a second Great Depression in the process, and without bustin' one sweat bubble. That's not just excellence, that's greatness, it was political genius!&nbsp; He managed to drag this nation forward,<i> in spite</i> of the fact that White conservatives were hanging on to his ankles kickin' and screamin'. <br />.<br />As I pointed out in a previous article,<br />.<br /><i>“The problem with Trump is he desperately wants to be an Obama, but he just doesn't have Obama's character, eloquence, or intelligence - and he knows it - and that's driving him crazy.&nbsp; So instead of trying to compete with Obama's accomplishments, he's trying to tear down his legacy.&nbsp; He's so jealous of Obama that he's not only trying to sabotage a nuclear arms agreement that's benefiting&nbsp; the entire world, but he’s also trying to deprive millions of Americans of affordable healthcare in a futile attempt to erase President Obama from history. That's the problem with having an immature and self-absorbed narcissist as president, he places his own needs before the needs of the country, and even the world.&nbsp; But Trump’s malevolent efforts may be a blessing in disguise, because they serve to reveal the GOP's true colors, and the fact that they don't give one bit of a damn about the American people.”</i><br />.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9UC6n8L_aH0" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br />So this nation isn’t as divided as it seems, it’s just that the bigots are louder.&nbsp; What we’re witnessing is Jim Crow’s final gasp, and the conservative blowback from eight years of frustration over a nation that embraced and loved our first Black president so much that they elected him twice.&nbsp; They’re also frustrated over Obama’s overwhelming success as a president.&nbsp; Prior to the Obama era there was a raging debate going on in this country over whether or not Black professionals were as capable as their White counterparts.&nbsp; But if you'll notice, since Obama, we hear nothing of that debate any longer. Obama made the job of being president look effortless during one of this nation’s most trying times. So thanks to Barack Obama, the bigots lost one of their most cherished delusions - the delusion of superiority.&nbsp; Therefore, instead of becoming frustrated ourselves and descending to the level of the bigots, we must out-think them, and embrace the honor of delivering Jim Crow his final blow - and we can do just that.<br />.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zcmzaiif5b8/We60_Aiv0_I/AAAAAAAAF6U/xM8an4-fVGwXWPlUgFz97ITJT3NEmhpaACLcBGAs/s1600/Black%2BKnowledge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="198" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zcmzaiif5b8/We60_Aiv0_I/AAAAAAAAF6U/xM8an4-fVGwXWPlUgFz97ITJT3NEmhpaACLcBGAs/s1600/Black%2BKnowledge.jpg" /></a></div>Black people are natural educators, and we've already demonstrated that we have the ability to influence the world.&nbsp; In spite of our second-class status in the united states, and our being deprived of attending the great music conservatories of the world, we took washboards and makeshift instruments and created jazz, the greatest, and most complex, musical innovation in the history of mankind.&nbsp; We made the Roaring Twenties roar, jazz serenaded America to victory over Hitler during WWII, and today you can get a PhD at any university or musical conservatory in the world for just being able to explain what Charlie Parker was doing over sixty-five years ago.&nbsp; We also demonstrated to the world that we weren’t the mindless Stepin Fetchits in which we’d previously been portrayed, and we produced a president who was certainly one of America's greatest, who was beloved and respected around the world, by friends and foe alike, and who saved the world from a second Great Depression. So we've already proven that we have much to offer this nation, and the world - my closest friend is being applauded and having roses thrown at he feet by the people of Russia even as I speak.<br />.<br />She sent me a message saying, "Everything is good. We had a 1200 person standing ovation the other night.&nbsp; Last night after the show I went out in the lobby and the people stood around me and applauded. Their faces were filled with glee and my heart was full.&nbsp; It was a happy heartfelt memory moment.&nbsp; I signed autographs and people wanted to take pictures with me. One little girl kept coming over to take pictures. It was so funny, so I said, 'Okay, this one is just in case you loose the other three.'" <br />.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wMGCI-U1Yz4/WfXypVKxUAI/AAAAAAAAF8w/XalEGleUEagsRkOCgDuKLyOdXc2R7NWbACLcBGAs/s1600/RITA%2BRUSSIAN%2BSIGN%2B.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wMGCI-U1Yz4/WfXypVKxUAI/AAAAAAAAF8w/XalEGleUEagsRkOCgDuKLyOdXc2R7NWbACLcBGAs/s320/RITA%2BRUSSIAN%2BSIGN%2B.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="font-size: small;">JAZZ SINGER RITA EDMOND</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: small;">IN RUSSIA</span></b></div></td></tr></tbody></table>So it’s time to set aside all pettiness and, ironically, to focus our creativity on saving this nation that's treated us so harshly, from itself. The bigots want America to believe we’re in a race war, but instead of getting as ignorant and angry as they are, we must help this nation to understand that we are not in a race war, but knee-deep in a <i>CLASS</i> war - race is merely a very potent weapon being used as a divisive distraction - and we can do that with just a little bit of intelligence, foresight, and creativity.&nbsp; So let the bigots act a fool while we quietly morph into reasoned and thought-provoking educators of the American people. Because we're engaged in a war of ideas, philosophy, and intellect, not idiocy.&nbsp; So it's time to let the cat out the bag, and show the world, once again, who we <i>REALLY </i>are.<br />.<br />Even some of the most thoughtful and well-meaning White people - White people who recognized and fully support the Black community's potential - even <i>they</i> fail to recognize who we <i>really</i> are as a people, because we keep it under wraps - even from ourselves in many respects. Thomas Jefferson said the following:<br />.<br />“They [Black people] are more generally gifted than the whites with accurate ears for tune and time, and they have been found capable of imagining a small catch. … Whether they will be equal to the composition of a more extensive run of melody, or of complicated harmony, is yet to be proved.”<br />.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K2fsIvnOGi8/WfPmar9mZNI/AAAAAAAAF8E/YJjtCfoqlOc1ceJEako5mhEIGkJXHFKRQCLcBGAs/s1600/Beethoven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K2fsIvnOGi8/WfPmar9mZNI/AAAAAAAAF8E/YJjtCfoqlOc1ceJEako5mhEIGkJXHFKRQCLcBGAs/s1600/Beethoven.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN</b>&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table>That is EXACTLY how many, but far from all, White people feel about Black intellect. But Thomas Jefferson, a musician himself, has been proven to be grossly in error in his attitude toward Black people with regard to our musical capabilities, just as many of today's White people are in error regarding our intellectual capacity.&nbsp; Without even having to address the debate over whether or not Beethoven with his Moorish heritage was Black, let Bach try to compete with the "melodic run" or "harmonic complexity" of John Coltrane or Quincy Jones below - as great as he was, he'd be blown out of the water. I know there are many musicologists who would be absolutely shocked that I would even <i>THINK </i>such a thing, and <i>GOD FORBID, </i>say it out loud, but that's only due to their educational brainwashing. But I present the facts below. Just imagine, if you can, Bach trying to keep up with this - and I'm being compassionate here by not dragging out Bird:<br />.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftPO6cl5NXY" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>AND WITH REGARD TO ORCHESTRATION - OVER 55 YEARS AGO WHEN QUINCY WAS NOT MUCH MORE THAN A KID:</b></div>.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QUqrJQP1xeo" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br /><br /><h1 class="postitle entry-title" style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://nilabam.com/blog/meet-the-most-brilliant-family-in-the-uk/" target="_blank">MEET THE MOST BRILLIANT FAMILY IN THE UK</a></span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y063ejVux7o/WfCTEBzSUDI/AAAAAAAAF7k/G9HVpLORulUx78NyFy3LBhd72u2e6E7FQCLcBGAs/s1600/KNOWLEDGE_MOST%2BBRILLIANT%2BFAMILY%2BIN%2BU.K..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="241" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y063ejVux7o/WfCTEBzSUDI/AAAAAAAAF7k/G9HVpLORulUx78NyFy3LBhd72u2e6E7FQCLcBGAs/s1600/KNOWLEDGE_MOST%2BBRILLIANT%2BFAMILY%2BIN%2BU.K..png" /></a></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">"Twelve year-old twins, Peter and Paula Imafidon, are black children from Waltham Forest in northeast London. Nicknamed “the Wonder Twins,” Peter and Paula are Great Britain’s current highest achievers. At 9-years-old they made history as the youngest children in British history to attend high school. They are now in their third year. The children became the youngest to ever pass the&nbsp;</span><span id="IL_AD2" style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">University</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">&nbsp;of Cambridge’s advanced&nbsp;</span><span id="IL_AD5" style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">mathematics</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">&nbsp;exam after participating in the Excellence in Education program. They set world records when they passed the A/AS-level math&nbsp;</span><span id="IL_AD6" style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">papers</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">. Peter Imafidon, who is also a 100m and 400m relay champ in London, has said that he would like to serve as Prime Minister one day and his sister Paula, a county champion in rugby, would like to teach math. Both students are musicians.</span></i></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;"><i>.</i></span></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">"The twins joined the ranks of their gifted siblings, Anne-Marie Imafidon, who was the pioneering child among the&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">young genii. Now 23 years old, Anne-Marie spoke six languages and graduated from high school at age 10. In 2003, when she was only 13, she was granted a British&nbsp;</span><span id="IL_AD3" style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">scholarship</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">&nbsp;to study Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University in&nbsp;</span><span id="IL_AD8" style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">Baltimore</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">, Maryland. Four years later, Anne-Marie obtained her&nbsp;</span><span id="IL_AD1" style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">Masters</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot;; font-size: 16px;">Degree from Oxford University. Anne-Marie was the youngest person to pass the A-level computing exam. Just last year she was called a “serial world record breaker” in the September 2011 edition of “Higher Education Digest.” Anne-Marie has mentioned that she believes in mentoring children to help them succeed. She is involved in the S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program to help fulfill the need for math and science female leaders. She is currently working in a high-level position at an international investment bank in the United Kingdom."</span></i><br /><i style="background-color: white; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;;">http://nilabam.com/blog/meet-the-most-brilliant-family-in-the-uk/</i></div><div>.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tEu_axeFoyk/Wfb6H7jweaI/AAAAAAAAF9Y/_qTN3bLIK60fAWxF-7Ozn-ciWcmjuOAowCLcBGAs/s1600/TRUMP_MAKE%2BAMERICA%2BGREAT%2BAGAIN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="472" height="333" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tEu_axeFoyk/Wfb6H7jweaI/AAAAAAAAF9Y/_qTN3bLIK60fAWxF-7Ozn-ciWcmjuOAowCLcBGAs/s400/TRUMP_MAKE%2BAMERICA%2BGREAT%2BAGAIN.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Black people have held their intellect close to the vest for many reasons.&nbsp; During slavery and the Jim Crow era, letting the White man know the depth our intellect could have meant a death sentence, and even to this day, letting your employer know that you're smarter than he is can place you in the unemployment line. For these, and many more reasons, my grandfather told me as a kid, "Never let people know everything you know, because then they'll know everything you know, plus what they already knew, and that'll make them smarter than you." That was great advice for my grandfather's time, but times have changed.&nbsp; It is now time for Black people to let our intellect out of the bag and strut our stuff, and there is a very important reason why . . .<br />.<br /><b>K</b><b>nowledge is the bane of the Republican Party. They're wholly dependent on ignorance and stupidity for their very existence.&nbsp; So Black people must let knowledge and intellect become the new 'soul', and use our creativity to help to educate the American people.&nbsp; Now is the time for Black people to out our intellect and reveal the depth of who we are as a people.&nbsp; It's time to show America that we can do much more than just boogie.&nbsp; We must strut our stuff, and not through screamin' and snatchin' microphones, but through careful thought, wisdom, and intellect.&nbsp; In today's environment, simply being Black and proud is not enough - we must also demonstrate our brilliance and resolve. The Black community can longer afford the luxury of simply thinking as a hobby, we must make serious and mature thought a way of life.</b></div><div><b>.</b></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Eric L. Wattree</span></div><div><div class="_6ks" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://wattree.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Http://wattree.blogspot.com</a></span></div><div class="_6ks" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a></span></div><div class="_6ks" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&amp;tid=1596485946102#!/group.php?gid=135558926476509" target="_blank">Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)</a></span></div><div class="_6ks" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></div><div class="_6ks" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div class="_6ks" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.</span></div><div class="_6ks" style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><div class="uiScaledImageContainer _6m5 fbStoryAttachmentImage" style="height: 249px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 476px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><br /></div></div></div></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/10/black-people-make-knowledge-new-soul.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19330072.post-7335906356202593625Wed, 11 Oct 2017 23:43:00 +00002017-10-11T18:24:21.093-07:00Rita EdmondWattreeRITA EDMOND AT PASADENA CITY COLLEGE<div style="text-align: left;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree</span></strong></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">RITA EDMOND AT PASADENA CITY COLLEGE<br />.</span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></div><i>Clazzical Notes is rising quickly in the Los Angeles area as a powerful reminder of the joy of seeing live music. Under indefatigable guidance of its founder Jerri Price-Gaines, the audience at Pasadena City College was offered multiple musical genres - all spotlighting the talents of very gifted female performers. Gail Deadrick (One time musical director for the late Natalie Cole) introduced each act with graceful, understatement.<br />.<br />The program promised some no-nonsense jazz. Enter the charismatic Rita Edmond. Putting her own spin on classic songs associated with Billie Holiday and Shirley Horn, Ms. Edmond made these jazz chestnuts entirely her own. Effortlessly scatting when lyrics can no longer express a true jazz singer's soul - the audience could feel a kinship to Ella Fitzgerald's playful side; as well as the soulful, dark longing of Sarah Vaughn in Ms. Edmond's phrasing. Pianist Gary Matsumoto offered heartfelt solos that showed us that no matter how complex jazz can get, it is always accessible to its audience. The combo backing Ms. Edmond proved a perfect complement to Rita Edmond and her shifting tones and mastery of a great lyric.</i><br /><i></i><br />************************************************************************************************<br />I just thought I’d write and let you know how much I loved the above review of Rita Edmond’s performance at the "Women in Music" concert at Pasadena City College. One of the things that I admired most about the review as a whole is your broad grasp of music of every genre. As a lifelong jazz musician my knowledge is pretty much limited to jazz, but as I read the review I got a very clear sense of the excellence that each performer brought to the table, and as a writer, I greatly admire your ability to help me to feel what you felt. Much like the music you were reviewing, that kind of excellence tends to be a lost art in today’s anti-intellectual society.<br />.<br />But again, as a jazz lover, I was particularly drawn to your insight into Rita Edmond.&nbsp; While Ms. Edmond hasn’t come close to getting the recognition that she deserves (at least, in this country due to our Hillbilly mentality), she is my very favorite jazz vocalist in the world today, and I loved the way you clearly recognized her musical kinship to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and in my opinion, Nancy Wilson and Lorez Alexandria. While she’s not a clone of any of these ladies, she brings their excellence, sophistication, and feeling to the table. She sounds like she just stepped off the stage on 52nd Street after singing with Bird, Miles and Monk.&nbsp; In fact - and she laughed at me when I told her this - if she continues to study jazz theory and perfect her scatting, I think she could very well become today’s vocal version of Charlie Parker, and our culture could definitely use that today.&nbsp; <br />.<br />But don’t take my word for it.&nbsp; Check this out, and how she stacks up to some of the greatest musicians who’s ever lived:<br />.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">AN APPEAL TO PRESERVE OUR CULTURE</span></b><br />.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>When you're&nbsp;writing about jazz (especially bebop and hard jazz) sometimes you feel like you're writing to yourself.&nbsp; But I never allow myself to forget that this is<i>&nbsp;Black</i> <i>culture</i> that we're talking about here, and certainly one of the&nbsp;greatest art forms that has ever been bestowed upon humanity that the establishment is trying to&nbsp;bury . . .&nbsp;but not on my watch.&nbsp;<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><i>.</i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: left;">I’m a lifelong musician who’s been devoted to jazz every since I was a child, and I take great pride in what jazz has contributed to the Black community, America, and the world. I also have a deep devotion&nbsp;for my culture. For both of those reasons I’ve decided to devote much of my waking hours to the promotion of a woman who I’m convinced is highly significant to what Black people represent as a culture and as an artistic force in the world. Her name is Rita Edmond, and she’s come along at just the right time, because the jazz world really needs someone like her now. But due to the dumbing down of America, and our mindless embrace&nbsp;of the frivolous,&nbsp;our elitist media is completely ignoring her, and it’s a slap in the face of jazz.&nbsp; It’s, literally, like ignoring Sarah Vaughan. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: left;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: left;">But this situation is not just a result of the White establishment alone. It’s also a result of what many Black people have allowed themselves to become. It’s sad that I should even have to make this appeal for an artist of this caliber. In the past, jazz flourished because musicians promoted one another.&nbsp; Back in the day Jimmy Heath would have told a promoter or club owner, “If you like me, you’ll also like a guy by the name John Coltrane. You need to check him out.”&nbsp; As a result they both flourished, because&nbsp;Jimmy&nbsp;did that&nbsp;in the name of jazz.&nbsp;&nbsp;He had enough sense, and devotion to our culture, to&nbsp;recognized that by promoting Trane, he was also promoting jazz, and by promoting jazz, he was also promoting himself.&nbsp; Thelonious Monk even went to jail for Bud Powell to prevent Bud from being barred from playing in New York, because Monk knew that Bud was good for jazz, and at that time the public had yet to catch up with what Monk himself was doing.&nbsp; <br />.<br />But today the attitude seems to be, “I've got mine, so you’re just gonna have to struggle like I did.” Many even go so far as to HIDE possible connections - and then we wonder why our cultural traditions&nbsp;simply disappear. The very last thing we should want is for someone like Rita Edmond to be a secret, because she’s not just another singer; she’s without a doubt one of the most significant jazz divas alive in the world today.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: left;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gALj990S_fY/WUQjQJApaxI/AAAAAAAAFY8/IdsME-eJmNcUCdDzNPTiwRryvy4oVPf2QCLcBGAs/s1600/Rita%2BPassion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gALj990S_fY/WUQjQJApaxI/AAAAAAAAFY8/IdsME-eJmNcUCdDzNPTiwRryvy4oVPf2QCLcBGAs/s320/Rita%2BPassion.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>As Black people, we’ve&nbsp; got to start recognizing our priorities.&nbsp; Again, this&nbsp;is our <i>CULTURE</i> we’re talking about here, and the failure to promote it whenever, and however we can, only serves to diminish it. Yet, many Black people fail to support the very best in who we are. <br />.<br />Rita has only one stumbling block&nbsp;in demonstrating to the world the brilliance of our people&nbsp;&nbsp;- when it comes to the Black culture, the American media has conditioned us to fixate on only one thing, the booty-shacking frivolity of entertainment.&nbsp; Now, I’m not criticizing entertainment - I love watching Beyoncé&nbsp;shake her assets -&nbsp;but a culture has to be recognized for more than just shaking its&nbsp;booty to gain and maintain the world’s respect. It was the dazzling technical abilities of people like Dizzy, Bird, Monk and Miles that made the world begin to recognize that there was much more to Black people than the slow-minded Stepin Fetchit-like people in which we had previously been portrayed. Thus, it was the seriousness of jazz as an art form that brought the Black culture into the modern world, and today musicologists at universities and conservatories all over this planet are still scratching their heads and trying to figure out what Bird was doing over 60 years after his death.&nbsp; </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: left;">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CMv78fbCvek/WUQjnKyT3WI/AAAAAAAAFZA/wuS2V7UK0DgNqFJ3zk_IirlWnpssSb7swCLcBGAs/s1600/RITA_IN%2BISRAEL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CMv78fbCvek/WUQjnKyT3WI/AAAAAAAAFZA/wuS2V7UK0DgNqFJ3zk_IirlWnpssSb7swCLcBGAs/s1600/RITA_IN%2BISRAEL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CMv78fbCvek/WUQjnKyT3WI/AAAAAAAAFZA/wuS2V7UK0DgNqFJ3zk_IirlWnpssSb7swCLcBGAs/s320/RITA_IN%2BISRAEL.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>In that regard, people in nations as far flung as Russia and Thailand have thrown flowers at Rita’s feet. Fans&nbsp;traveled to Thailand from as far away as Japan just to hear&nbsp;this lady&nbsp;sing. When she&nbsp;left Russia people met her at the train station with roses, and a young piano prodigy (whose father brought him to several of Rita’s performances, and thereafter,&nbsp;took her to visit the Kremlin&nbsp;and indulged in snowball fights) ran up and hugged her. And in Israel, a quadriplegic, who was paralyzed from the neck down, had them bring him - in his bed! - just to&nbsp;hear this fabulous diva sing.<br />.<br />The people of these other lands&nbsp;give&nbsp;Rita that kind of love because they appreciate excellence, and they&nbsp;recognize that&nbsp;Rita Edmond&nbsp;is a part of a great tradition.&nbsp; They haven’t been subjected to America's Trump-like Hillbilly mentality towards Black culture, so they see this woman for what she really is - a world-class talent. Rita Edmond is not just an entertainer . . . she’s an&nbsp;<i>ARTIST</i> - and one of the world’s greatest.&nbsp;But in spite of that fact, the American music industry treats her like she's some frog singing on a subway platform for change. So don't allow some tone-deaf accountant to sit behind a desk and define your culture. Trust your own ears and listen to this&nbsp;fabulous diva&nbsp;for yourself.&nbsp;&nbsp;Check this lady out!<br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">SO WHO IS THIS RITA EDMOND?<br /> WELL, I COULD TELL YOU SHE'S ELLA, SHE'S SARAH,&nbsp;DINAH, </span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">OR NANCY WILSON,</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>BUT INSTEAD OF TELLING YOU, I'LL SHOW YOU.</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></b>.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><b>EMBRACEABLE YOU - WYNTON MARSALIS </b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P1dkHuxWI_w" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">EMBRACEABLE YOU - RITA EDMOND</span></b><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h4SZXO9-jrc" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b><br /><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>HERE'S TO LIFE - SHIRLEY HORN</b><b><br /></b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UTv3TONfTTQ" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>,</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>HERE'S TO LIFE - RITA EDMOND</b><b><br /></b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c18V_uvMYhU" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b><br /><b>IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING - KING PLEASURE</b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nbvpUd7_gjc" width="640"></iframe><br />.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING - SARAH VAUGHAN</b><b><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g1VEifmf9Uw" width="640"></iframe></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b></b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b>IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING - RITA EDMOND</b></b><b><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bVXzYTrrCVE" width="640"></iframe></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - DINAH WASHINGTON</b><b><br /></b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AYAkqtDMhek" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE - RITA EDMOND</b><b><br /></b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RKPY2gA24PI" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>&nbsp;.</b><b><br /></b></div><div align="center"><b>SUNNY - RITA EDMOND</b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/am0md9d9D2M" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ms. Rita Edmond -The Contemporary Face of True Jazz Royalty</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; text-align: center;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-31DVb7XBsgU/UAMB4zRp9rI/AAAAAAAAAz0/Mj4_sp1Yo9g/s1600/Rita+Singing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #776644; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-31DVb7XBsgU/UAMB4zRp9rI/AAAAAAAAAz0/Mj4_sp1Yo9g/s320/Rita+Singing.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 221, 238); padding: 4px;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">So if you’re a jazz lover and want to look upon the contemporary face of jazz royalty, take a moment to go check out Ms. Rita Edmond. She's the jazz world's best kept secret.&nbsp;&nbsp;She's currently working on her third CD, but even&nbsp;on her first CD,&nbsp;she made it abundantly clear to this writer that she hit the ground fully seasoned as one of the greatest jazz singers alive today.&nbsp;I know, that's a mighty lofty claim to heap onto the shoulders of a relatively new artist,&nbsp;but I'm not given to hyperbole, so I fully intend to back up my assertion with the contents and attachments to this piece.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">Ms. Edmond moves between sultry sophistication, hard driving swing, and childlike innocence without any effort at all. There are many great singers out there, but from the very first bar of anything Rita does, she clearly distinguishes herself as one of&nbsp;those rare individuals who was born to do exactly what she’s doing, and nothing else. She swings with the effortless grace of a Sliver Shadow cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, and her ballads are lush with sultry passion, personal depth, and individuality.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">You can't "learn" to sing like Rita Edmond. You either have it, or you don't, and there's only one or two lucky few in a generation who do - but Rita, like Ella and Sarah, is one of those lucky few.&nbsp;But don’t just take my word for it, go check her out for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that she’s a once in a generation talent, and clearly the heir apparent to some of the greatest divas that jazz has ever known.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p8-4jHnjzbE/V7skBANHh0I/AAAAAAAAEww/zdGvpSQ1yckmRouk7Fkuxlan-gpQCofCQCLcB/s1600/RITA%2BRUSSIAN%2BSIGN%2B.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p8-4jHnjzbE/V7skBANHh0I/AAAAAAAAEww/zdGvpSQ1yckmRouk7Fkuxlan-gpQCofCQCLcB/s400/RITA%2BRUSSIAN%2BSIGN%2B.png" width="300" /></a></div>Along with this piece I've attached&nbsp;four links to make my point -&nbsp;‘Here’s to Life,’ ‘Embraceable You' (Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art)&nbsp;,&nbsp; ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’, and&nbsp;'Sunny'&nbsp;- and each tune shows a different side of her tremendous, and still growing, musical personality.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; line-height: 20.8px;"><span style="font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , serif;">‘Here’s to Life’ is a beautiful ballad that’s been done by some of the greatest singers who’s ever lived, yet Ms. Edmond’s version is as good or better than any version of this tune that’s ever been recorded. The soaring passion that she brings to this tune makes it almost impossible for anyone who’s ever had to struggle through life’s adversities to listen to with a dry eye. &nbsp;Artie Butler - the multi-Grammy Award winning composer (and Barbara Streisand's musical director) - said of Ms. Edmond,&nbsp;</span><span style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Rita Edmond knows exactly what to do with a song like 'Here's To Life.' She brings the listener into the&nbsp;music as she sings, making you feel she's singing just for you. That's indeed a gift."</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">'Embraceable You,' (featuring Harold Land, Jr. on&nbsp;piano) demonstrates the ease in which she can establish the mood of a song and captivate an audience. It also shows an artist who is so comfortable in serenading an audience that it seems like she was born on stage. And&nbsp;after the piano solo, notice&nbsp;the effortless spontaneity in which she throws in a lick that's so exquisite that it sounds like it should have been written into the tune. You won't be able to miss it because the audience places an exclamation point of approval immediately afterward, as she casually, and routinely, moves on to the next phrase, as though it's all in a night's work.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O1_hzZwIzcc/V7r8dxI28xI/AAAAAAAAEwQ/hxe8R5FqJdQUM7fx2i7Z_BcSRVH0ghyrwCLcB/s1600/Rita%2BRussian%2BTour.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O1_hzZwIzcc/V7r8dxI28xI/AAAAAAAAEwQ/hxe8R5FqJdQUM7fx2i7Z_BcSRVH0ghyrwCLcB/s320/Rita%2BRussian%2BTour.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rita Edmond and Phil Woods Protégé <br /> and International</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jazz Great, Robert Anchipolosky</span></b></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Finally, she does ‘It Might As Well Be Spring,’ a tried and true jazz standard. Not everyone can do this tune well, because it’s such a jazz staple that it’s hard for a singer to put their personal stamp on it, and whenever they try, they either over sing or under sing the tune.&nbsp;&nbsp;But Rita swings through it effortlessly and makes it her own. King Pleasure himself would smile at her rendition.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">I also wanted to add Ms. Edmond's rendition of&nbsp;‘This Can’t Be Love’ as an attachment, but unfortunately, it's not available on Youtube. Nevertheless,&nbsp;it deserves a&nbsp;mention. On that tune&nbsp;Ms. Edmond&nbsp;displays yet another part of her musical vocabulary -&nbsp;her growing chops as a scatter and her&nbsp;ability to swing with the best of them. In this case, she scats in unison&nbsp;with yet another powerhouse, tenor sax player Ricky Woodard, and they’re pushed forward by the hard driving rhythms of Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath of the illustrious Heath Brothers on drums&nbsp;- and when it comes to the aristocracy of jazz, they don’t come any more blue-blooded than Tootie. She's also regularly accompanied by Nancy Wilson's keyboard player, Llew Matthews, who has also played with legendary jazz giants such as Jackie McLean and Woody Shaw, and the sweet-struttin' Edwin Livingston on bass. &nbsp;So Rita is regularly being tested by fire, and she literally dances through the flames with blissful&nbsp;abandon.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqlYVuNIgRk/V8S3gDvtAKI/AAAAAAAAEyE/1a6KhzGJc9409Wm5x_OtxiAozZQYtviOwCLcB/s1600/Rita%2Band%2BRobert.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqlYVuNIgRk/V8S3gDvtAKI/AAAAAAAAEyE/1a6KhzGJc9409Wm5x_OtxiAozZQYtviOwCLcB/s320/Rita%2Band%2BRobert.png" width="320" /></a></div>Earlier this year Ms. Edmond toured Russia, bringing the house down with the late Phil Woods' protégé, Robert Anchipolosky, and at this writing she's wrapping up a three month gig at&nbsp; the luxurious Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where she's doing her part to show&nbsp;jazz lovers, politicians, and &nbsp;ambassadors from all over the world what we bring to the table.&nbsp; She's also just completed a project with&nbsp; her good friend and fabulous sax player, Dale Fielder, "Resiliance,"on the Clarion Jazz label&nbsp;that's monstrous. While very contemporary in it's concept, the quality of musicianship is a throwback to the way the big boys used to do it.&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">Ms. Edmond approaches jazz like she's been here before. It's like she walked on stage fresh&nbsp;off 52nd Street. For that reason, whenever I hear her sing it makes my eyes moist, because I can here Ella, Sarah, and Dinah,&nbsp;&nbsp;whispering softly in the background, "Show 'em how it's done, baby girl."&nbsp;And she has a natural musical kinship to Dexter Gordon, whether she's singing a ballad or swinging, and when you're as familiar with Dexter Gordon's music as I am (his family lived two blocks away from my grandparents, and my mother went to Jefferson High School with him), it's a scary thing to watch.&nbsp;Her approach to phrasing and the feeling she evokes is the exactly the same kind of feeling that Dexter&nbsp;had on his tenor.&nbsp;<span style="color: black;"> When I first played Dexter&nbsp;doing "You've Changed</span>" for her, she said, "Hey!&nbsp; He sounds just like me!" &nbsp;I had to laugh. I told her, "No, Rita,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYTtRh12OQ4" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">You sound just like <b>HIM."</b></span></a>&nbsp; But her reaction to the tune is understandable.&nbsp; Dex recorded "You've Changed" when Rita was a baby, but her father, who started her singing&nbsp;&nbsp;and dragged her around to sing for anybody who would listen when she was a little girl,&nbsp;was a jazz fanatic, so&nbsp;she might have her Dexter while she was still in a bassinet,&nbsp; and with her ears, and her affinity for jazz, she never forgot it.&nbsp;&nbsp;So Dexter has just become a part of her, waiting in the wings to express himself - and he does just that, with every phrase she sings.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><u></u><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B2Rv-5payNU/V8X9zDaSlOI/AAAAAAAAEyg/g0tyZpCRtHw93xHcnw04z62UDY-Qvu3TgCLcB/s1600/Rita%2Band%2Bambassadors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B2Rv-5payNU/V8X9zDaSlOI/AAAAAAAAEyg/g0tyZpCRtHw93xHcnw04z62UDY-Qvu3TgCLcB/s320/Rita%2Band%2Bambassadors.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rita with the former Australian Ambassador, </span></span></span></div><div><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ireland Ambassador, and the </span></span></span></div><div><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Portuguese Ambassador</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">But in spite of her talent, Ms. &nbsp;Edmond is a very innocent sort, whose emotions are always very close to the surface - I think that may be the key to the beauty&nbsp;of her musicianship -&nbsp;but again, in spite of her unassuming manner, when she picks up a mic someone else emerges.&nbsp; Just the touch of a mic seems to transform her. It gives her a&nbsp;&nbsp;tremendous confidence, sophistication, and a&nbsp;unique sense of individualism that&nbsp;serves to produce a&nbsp;flawless musical delivery - a delivery that&nbsp;seems to say, “There’s a new diva in town,” and I say, it’s about time!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">PS:&nbsp;I don't want to get spooky here, but something &nbsp;just happened that made my blood run cold. I didn't know whether or not it was appropriate to mention it in the context of this article, but it was such a coincident that I feel that I would be remiss if I didn't say something about it.&nbsp; As I was writing about the kinship of the music of Dexter Gordon and Rita Edmond,&nbsp;before I posted I&nbsp;received a contact. It was from Dexter's widow, Maxine Gordon (or as Dex would call her, "Lady Gordon").&nbsp; My last contact with her was over two years ago, so that&nbsp;was&nbsp;one hell of a coincident . . . or was it?&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><b>YOU'VE CHANGED - DEXTER GORDON </b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L6I4X4ErHdw" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: center;"><b>YOU'VE CHANGED - RITA EDMOND</b></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aYTtRh12OQ4" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">SPEAK ON IT, RITA!!!</span></b></div>.<br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">Eric L. Wattree<br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">wattree.blogspot.com</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: #776644; text-decoration: none;">Ewattree@Gmail.com</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #00264c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.<br />Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div></div>http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/10/rita-edmond-at-pasadena-cty-college.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Eric Wattree)